


A Beautiful Trauma

by elbereth1



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:19:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 58,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elbereth1/pseuds/elbereth1
Summary: “Bella! Bella, are you awake?”She couldn’t say for certain, but Eliza was 99.99989% certain that she was not at home in Minnesota.In which a young adult from 2018 wakes up to find herself in a fictional universe. The Twilight universe, to be exact. Yes, our hero, Eliza, has found herself stuck in the life of Bella Swan.What is one supposed to do in a situation like this? Eliza has no clue, so she's making it up as she goes.Nothing could prepare her for what happens next.





	1. Viva La Vida

**Author's Note:**

> An AU that nobody asked for, but is being written nonetheless. Another new, gay take on Twilight. Keeping up the Queer Twilight Revival in 2018!
> 
> The general setting and rules of Twilight will be in place, with twists to the storyline here and there.
> 
> One other thing...this is a SLOW BURN. Saddle up, and hold on for the ride.
> 
> (Disclaimer: Everything "Twilight" belongs to Stephenie Meyer. References belong to their respective creators and owners. Eliza is my own original character).

Eliza woke with a start to a loud rapping noise, feeling the wetness of drool on her pillow as she did. Groaning, she refused to move - that would admit to the surrounding world that she was awake. The noise did not stop, yet increased it’s intensity.

“Bella! Bella, are you awake?” An odd voice yelled from the other side of the door. This had Eliza’s eyes wide open. Bella? What was wrong with her mother? Her mother never sounded like that, and she had never called her “Bella” before. Sure, she’d called her “Lily” after her sister, and occasionally “Bing” after her dog, but never…"Bella." No, she misheard.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m up,” Eliza yelled back, scrunching her eyes and nose as she fought drowsiness.

“Good! Hurry up and finish packing, your flight leaves in a couple of hours!” The voice faded as its owner departed. Now Eliza was _definitely_ awake. Flight? She wasn’t going anywhere. She’d only begun winter holiday break the week prior.

A tentative feeling of worry formed in her stomach, as Eliza to take stock of her surroundings. She was not in her bed. And she was not in her room. Eliza tensed and scanned an unfamiliar space, which held none of the comforts of home. It held nothing recognizable at all. Her breathing picked up as her mind raced to determine if this was real, or no more than a bad dream.

Jumping out from beneath the covers of not-her-bed, she ran to the window. Wrenching the curtains open, Eliza met blinding sun causing her to squint. The neighborhood that lay before her was not that of her childhood. She couldn’t say for certain, but Eliza was 99.99989% certain that she was _not_ at home in Minnesota. Minnesota did _not_ look this _dry_ during this time of year. It had snowed for the last two days straight. She'd spent the first inside reading, and the second snowboarding. What were the chances they had an extreme heat wave overnight?

Now she was close to hyper-ventilation. She was not at home. She was not even in her home state. She had no idea where she was, nor who was outside that door.

Eliza tried to think of the last thing she remembered before going to sleep. Her night had consisted of watching Wonder Woman for the fourth time since its release on home video. After that, she bade her family sweet dreams, and scratched her dog one last time for the night. Eliza had gone upstairs, brushed her teeth, removed her make-up, and laid down in bed to read. What was she reading? Twilight. Stupid book.

She’d managed to avoid the Twilight-craze that swept the world. Poorly-written supernatural romances? Not her thing. Not at all. Finally, at age 19 and home on break from university, her 22-year-old sister convinced her to read it. 

After snowboarding, Eliza had gone looking for Lily and found her watching Twilight. 'Lily? You're watching this?'

Unashamed, Lily had nodded. ‘As time has passed, it's grown on me! I appreciate it, okay?’ Lily was an English major, an avid reader. Her sister _lived_ for a well-written novel, but she also plain loved a good story. For her, Twilight qualified, although her logic was beyond Eliza's comprehension. 'Give the book a try,' she’d said. 'You might enjoy it.'

‘It’s about a ridiculous girl and a sparkly vampire, Lily. What more do I need to know?’

That night, Eliza sneaked the book off their family bookshelf. Ever the smart-ass, she was making plans to read it and write a satirical review for her sister as a Christmas present. She'd been hoping to finish it before morning so she could replace it on the shelf without anyone noticing it was gone. Reading it was a challenge - Eliza wanted to stop and throw up every time Edward spoke.

The problem was, Eliza didn’t remember putting the book back. She did remember finishing it at 2:30am. Frustrated by the ending, she’d tossed the book away. After that, she'd laid down and lamented the hours wasted. She couldn't recall anything after that, likely having fallen asleep. She _was_ only half-awake  when that woman called for her. Maybe she'd had a dream about Twilight. Yes, that was why she thought the woman had called her Bella.

Back to the real problem at hand. Where was she? Eliza sat down on the floor with her back to the bed and tried to calm herself. Combat breathing, that always worked. In through the nose…two…three…four…hold...two...three...four...out through the mouth…two…three…four. She did this until her pulse was back to (somewhat) normal. Then, she decided to channel her inner-sleuth and examine what clues there were. She had woken up in an unknown location, and someone who seemed to know her was expecting her to pack up and hop on a flight. It was blindingly bright outside, and. Yeah. That was the extent of her unhelpful information. Awesome.

Eliza stood and walked over to the desk, where sat an older desktop computer. It didn’t look like they had iMacs and sleek PCs out in BrightLand. There was no other modern technology in the room, for that matter.

She looked through the small closet, frustrated to find no more than baggy jeans and old shirts. That wouldn’t do. From there, Eliza spun in a circle, once again sifting through all the information she'd collected.

Bright and dry outside. Flight to somewhere in two hours. Desktop computer instead of a laptop. Bad wardrobe. Bella...wait... _BELLA?!_ Eliza grew numb, and sat down on the bed for support.

Bright and dry outside. Flight to somewhere in two hours. Ancient desktop computer. No iPhone. Bad wardrobe. Bella. _Bella_.

Was it possible? Had she been…transported? Into a _story?_  Impossible. Sure, she dreamt about it as a kid, but didn't everyone? She rubbed her forehead. It seemed that the impossible _had_ happened, for she could find no other explanation. She was likely in Phoenix, and the voice probably belonged to Bella’s mother, Renee. This was now at the top of her list of Weirdest Things To Happen In The History Of Ever™.

The feeling of worry twisted to dread as everything she'd left behind came flooding to the forefront of her mind. Family, friends, an entire life...how were they taking this? If Eliza was in Twilight, then maybe Bella was back home with her family. They may not have realized anything had changed.

It was a weird feeling, replacement, but she'd evidently done the same to Bella. That made the most sense to her panicked brain, a small comfort that her loved ones were alright. And if they could be, then she would be, too.

Rolling her shoulders and stretching her arms, Eliza stood. Operation Go With The Flow initiated. Either she'd find a way home, or she'd build a life here. Sitting and panicking would do her no good. Her sister's voice came to mind, encouraging Eliza to be brave and go on the adventure like she always did. Eliza smiled at the memory. "I will, Lily. I promise," she whispered.

Eliza opened the door to the room and peered out. Down the hall there looked to be a bathroom. As quietly as she could, she leapt inside and shut the door. Eliza turned to the mirror, relieved to see that she looked like herself. Dark blonde hair? Check. Approximately 5'6? Check. Scared witless? Check. Okay. Solid. Looking down at the counter, Eliza only saw one toothbrush and one hairbrush. Hoping they didn't belong to anyone else, Eliza set to work.

After brushing her teeth and brushing her hair, Eliza ran back to the bedroom and shut the door. Her eyes focusing, Eliza realized there was a suitcase at the bottom of the bed. Right, she had to pack. If she was packing, and she was in Twilight, then she was presumably going to Forks. Eliza did _not_ want to think about what that meant, because it may push her stress to an unhealthy level. Who was she kidding, she blew past that benchmark ages ago. Or was it minutes ago?

Eliza went to her closet and found the most normal looking pair of shorts and a t-shirt that she could find. It dawned on her that if she was now in the world of Twilight, then it was…shoot. 2005. That didn’t mean she had to _look_ like 2005.

She then swept the room, throwing whatever could be useful into the suitcase. That was...not much. Bella didn’t seem to have many possessions, and her selection of clothing was limited at best. Packing the nicest shirts and pants that Bella had, she made a mental note to acquire proper winter clothing.

Eliza zipped the suitcase shut and glanced around the room once more. She’d only known this place for…twenty-one minutes. But they’d been good minutes. Safe minutes. It felt like if she stayed in this room, she would be alright, because nothing had to change more than it already had. As soon as she stepped outside this room and down the stairs, there was no going back.

Eliza pinched herself. She slapped herself. And when she opened her eyes, she was still in Bella’s room. Well, it was worth a shot. "If you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." She repeated Bilbo's words and thought of her sister's encouraging smile one last time.

Steeling herself, Eliza picked up the suitcase and walked out.

There was no one in the house, so she descended the stairs and found what looked like the front door. It was open, and there were two voices coming from the outside. Eliza remembered that in Twilight, Bella leaves Phoenix so her mother could be with Phil. That’s what was happening.

Without much thought, Eliza walked to the people who were speaking by an SUV. It only occurred to her at that moment that she may not look like their Bella. Except they already noticed her approach, so, oh well. Luckily, the woman who must have been Renee recognized her and began to tear up, running forward to hug her.

"Oh, I’m going to miss you so much! My Bella."

"Yeah, I’m going to miss you…too…" Eliza replied. Get with the program, Eliza, Bella would be sad.

Renee left her hands on Eliza’s shoulders but pulled back, looking her over. "I don’t want to forget what you look like. You and your grandpa's beautiful blue eyes." What was this, Harry Potter?

Figuring she should say something, Eliza forced a smile. "You’ve got pictures!"

"It’s not the same," Renee cried. Her daughter wasn't the same, either, but Eliza didn't say that.

"Come on Renee, she's not going off to war, but she _is_  going to be late!" Oh, yeah, that guy. Phil. She didn’t need to know much about him, so that was good. Renee released Eliza, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.

Phil took Eliza's bag and loaded it into the back of his SUV. "Oh, thanks bro." She realized too late that calling someone "bro" may not have been normal behavior for Bella. His confused look told her as much.

Smiling nervously, she turned back to Renee, who was still crying. Eliza didn't know her, but she understood the mother's reaction to shipping her daughter off. Even if it was for selfish reasons. "I'll call you when I’m settled, how about that?" It was a good compromise to their communication conundrum, but she hoped it wouldn’t be a regular thing. Her life in Forks would provide content for a conversation, but Eliza would be at a complete loss if the past came up.

"Please do. And make sure Charlie feeds you, alright? I don’t know what that man eats." Eliza nodded and grimanced, well aware of Charlie’s cooking abilities. Her own were, unfortunately, not much better.

"I will! Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.

  
  
Eliza had a difficult time believing herself as she rode to the airport with Phil. Luckily, asking him a few questions about baseball kept him talking the whole way. After an awkward hug and assurances she would be fine on her own, Eliza found herself on the plane.

When the plane took off, Eliza closed her eyes. So far, so good. No one had asked anything of her yet that she couldn’t BS her way through. Charlie wouldn’t know Bella well at this point, which also worked in her favor. Still, there were plenty of problems. First, Eliza did sports. Soccer for fourteen years, golf for eight. She couldn't turn her athleticism off, and she doubted she could fake not being a sports fan for long. Second, she cared a bit more about her appearance than Bella did; she wore basic makeup, and made an effort to match her clothes. Those facts could prove problematic if Charlie knew Bella at all.

Eliza shifted in her seat, turning so she faced the window. There was another issue. Where she’d come from, she was nineteen year-old Eliza studying business in college. Here, she was presumably seventeen year-old Bella, who happened to look exactly like Eliza. She'd have to pay attention so that she answered to Bella, and didn't call herself Eliza by accident. She sighed, and passed time by watching out the window.

The plane flew toward Washington and the landscape beneath her changed. Green and mist now filled her vision. She had never seen the Pacific Northwest, and part of her was eager to explore.

As they began their descent, her row-buddy put down their book and spoke for the first time. An older woman with gray hair but a kind smile, she regarded Eliza curiously. "Ever been here before, dear?"

Eliza turned. "No, I haven’t! But it’s amazing."

"I hope you don’t mind me asking, but you've seemed sad this whole time. You’re alright, aren’t you?"

Touched at her concern, Eliza smiled. "Yeah, I’m alright. Or, I will be." Vague, nice.

The woman smiled, too, nodding as though she understood. "A new beginning for you?"

"You could say that again…"


	2. Feel Again

Eliza waited at baggage claim, anxiously awaiting her introduction to Charlie. Even from inside the airport, the entire aesthetic of the space felt like Twilight. Here in Washington, reality was hard to ignore. She shifted, unsettled by her thoughts and the constricting walls of the airport.

She lived in a world with vampires and werewolves. Of course, she didn’t have proof…yet…but she had to operate as such. The fact that story-Bella was a danger magnet didn’t do anything to comfort her. While Eliza knew a bit of MMA, she doubted it would be useful here.  
  
The good thing about all this: she already knew their strengths and weaknesses. IF Stephenie Meyer had been a reliable narrator, that is. The bad thing: this didn't matter much, when they could kill you without effort and you couldn't even put up a fight.

Eliza saw her luggage come into view. Antsy, she retrieved her bag and followed the signs for pick-up. Approaching the exit, Eliza was not surprised to see a police cruiser outside. Leaning against it was a middle-aged man with dark, unruly hair, and he seemed to recognize her, too.

"Hey Bells," Charlie said in a gruff voice. His body language screamed 'awkward,' but Eliza went for her normal greeting regardless. Gripping his right hand in her own, Eliza moved in for a bro hug, patting him on the back as she did so.

"Hey Ch-DAD," Eliza stuttered.

Charlie was too confused from her hug to acknowledge this. Clearly, she had to ease him into her version of "Bella" before she could go around bro-hugging. "Right, er. It’s. Good to see you, Bella! Throw your stuff in the trunk and we can head out."

Charlie retreated back to his seat as Eliza put her things away. So he was nervous, too. Charlie didn't scare her. In Twilight, he was a good man. This might be alright, IF she didn’t scare him off first with her "bro-ness," as her sister used to call it.

Eliza got into the front seat beside him and they left the airport. It was quiet for the first few minutes, as neither knew what to say. Eliza figured it was important he lead their conversation. She needed to know what he knew of her going in.

"You’ve grown since I last saw ya," Charlie started. Eliza smiled to herself, remembering his "knack" for conversation. Nice job, Charlie.

"Yeah, I definitely have." Eliza paused, searching for what to say. "The change, the fresh start here will be nice." Change indeed. This is your Dad now, Eliza, act like it. Swallowing her guilt, Eliza continued. "I’m excited to hang out, and do. Stuff. Together!" Great, Eliza. Stuff. At least Charlie wasn’t doing any better.

"Stuff is good, I mean. I’ve missed you. Sort of missed you growing up. But you’re here now, and we can certainly do… stuff. Get to know each other..." He grew quiet again for a moment before continuing. What a pair they made. How was it possible to be so evasive _and_ blunt at the same time? "There’s a game on tonight, if you’d like to watch it."

Sports! That would be an easy way to bond. "Sure!" Eliza realized too late that the Bella he knew was _not_ into sports. At all.

"Really? I didn’t think you’d actually want to, I was just offering. You don’t have to humor me, Bells."

"No, I'm not! I like sports!"

"Your mother hasn't said anything about that!"

"I mean, it’s a recent thing. I’ve been exercising, watching sports on TV. I’d love to try them sometime."

Charlie looked like he was going to burst, the way he tried to hold in his smile. She was already winning points in his book. "That’s great, Bells! They could use you at school you know, on any team, don't have a lot of athletes in Forks!" Eliza smiled to herself. His excitement was endearing. This could be fun. “Oh, you know, you're not exactly dressed for the weather here. Did you want to stop and buy some new clothes?”

His detective skills served him well. Eliza’s temperature may run warm, but shorts and t-shirts were not suited for a northern winter. That was the last thing she'd expected him to offer, though. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. "That would be great, but I don’t have money to-"

"Bells. I’m a single guy living in a house I’ve already paid off. I can afford to buy you some new clothes." Well, hot dog: free clothes. Her stomach chose that moment to rumble, a reminder that she hadn’t eaten anything all day. "You hungry? We can stop for a bite to eat here and do some shopping before we head back."

Eliza knew it would be a few hours to Forks by car, so she’d need food at some point. "Sounds like a plan!"

"McDonald’s alright? It’s fast."

"I could go for some McNuggets."

Over their food, they talked about sports teams that Charlie rooted for. Bella's athletic-ineptitude meant Eliza could get away with not knowing them already. When they finished, Charlie brought her to a mall in Seattle. Eliza saw the Eddie Bauer store, and hesitantly side-eyed Charlie. He looked surprised at her choice, but gestured forward, a silent invitation. Grinning, Eliza went right in. Half an hour later they were leaving, many bags in hand. Eliza first stocked up on plain, versatile shirts. Next, she added athletic clothing to her haul, her preferred style from the future. She also bought enough flannel for herself and Charlie to last years.

They swung through Express, and Eliza treated herself to the sale. She bought several new pairs of skinny jeans: regular, khaki, and black. She saw the dress clothes and promptly ran the other way.

Their last stop was Foot Locker. The fashions of the time had been disappointing, and shoes were no different. Eliza grabbed and discarded pair after pair of running shoes with no more than a glance. Charlie looked concerned at her behavior, but said nothing. In the end, she bought the sleekest pair of Nike running shoes she could find.

They finished their excursion with an ice cream eating competition, which Eliza won out of sheer determination. The look on Charlie’s face was worth the brain freeze. Soon after, they loaded the car with their new wardrobe and went on their way.

Charlie and Eliza drove further into green, and soon small-town Forks formed around her. Eliza had never lived in a town this far out from a metropolitan area. In Minnesota she’d lived in the Twin Cities. The level of development in those suburbs was uniform, modern, and well kept. Forks was a drastic change.

It was small, not quite "up" on what was current for the new century. The town was its own little bubble, everyone privy to everyone else's business. She’d have to be careful not to cause a scene or stand out.

As they entered Forks, Charlie followed the speed limit strictly. He waved at people he knew from stoplights, and pointed out important buildings. Eliza did her best to remember everything, knowing she’d need to be somewhat familiar with the town.

They pulled up to Charlie’s house, and Eliza found it looked like its novelized description. However, it was not in the middle of a neighborhood. Rather, it had a  large yard and a few mature trees.

Charlie unloaded her suitcase while she grabbed their bags, and followed him inside the house. It wasn’t spacious, but it was warm and welcoming. "You can go ahead and unpack upstairs in your room. I’ll call for a pizza, meet you down here for dinner in twenty or so?" Charlie was standing in the kitchen, nervous again.

"I will!" Eliza replied as she moved toward the stairs. She made an effort to stop and look at everything, running her hands over the material of the couch. She saw a few pictures hanging up with what looked like a younger version of herself with Charlie. That was surreal, to say the least.

Charlie was _still_ standing in the kitchen, watching her explore. She took pity on him, looking so desperate for her approval but too afraid to say so. He must not have had much of a chance to get to know Bella after all. Eliza set her bags down at the foot of the stairs and ran back to hug him, mumbling "I'm glad I'm here with you," into his shoulder. She meant it.

"Me too, Bells." They went their separate ways, Charlie to order the pizza, and Eliza to set up her room.

Her room had a fresh coat of paint, judging by the smell. There was a bed and bedside table, a dresser, a chair in the corner, a desk with a computer, and a decent-sized closet. Eliza set the suitcase on her bed and the bags on the floor, unpacking Bella's things first. After that she unloaded her new clothes, taking the tags off and organizing them in the closet.

When she finished, she sat down to rest and think for the first time in hours. It felt like years since she'd awoken to find herself inside a story. Why her? Was her old life and world stuck in time? Already ceased to exist? Was Bella actually there in her place? It felt wrong to mourn when she wasn't sure there was a need. It also felt wrong to already be comfortable and adjusting. Eliza sighed, and looked out the window. Mixed with sadness for everything left behind, was a sense of belonging that she didn't understand. She didn't know what to think.

In the car, Charlie had mentioned she’d start school the following week. That left her with one day to further acclimate to her new life. Then, she'd be stuck back with hormonal, annoying high schoolers. Eliza wanted to find a way to avoid the students Bella fell in with at school. They were generally unacceptable company at best.

Not only that, but there was a good chance she’d be attending with five apex predators. She wasn't sure how to feel about that, either.

Once again choosing to ignore that problem for the time being, Eliza returned to the kitchen. She found Charlie moving to sit down in front of the TV, pizza in hand. Going to grab a plate for herself, she saw the calendar hanging in Charlie’s kitchen. It told her the day was January 15, two days earlier than Bella arrives in Twilight. Interesting…several things were already not quite as Stephenie Meyer foretold.

"Bells, did you get lost? You're missing a good one!" Eliza chuckled at Charlie, and proceeded to open cupboards until she found the plates. It only took her four tries, and she joined Charlie in front of the TV. He pointed at the couch with his eyes glued to the screen, the recliner claimed for himself.

They watched golf over dinner, Charlie hoping to encourage her interest, no doubt. After that, they caught the hockey game between her very own Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings. Conversation came easy, both eagerly engaging with their observation and opinions.

Finally, around 10pm, Eliza bid Charlie goodnight. Laying in her bed as sleep evaded her, she thought again about her old life, and what the future here could bring. Eliza fell into an uneasy sleep, dreams plagued by memories and the cold.

 

Eliza spent Sunday with Charlie. They had breakfast and fought over control of the sports section of the newspaper. Every time one of them wasn’t looking, the other would steal it and read a few precious paragraphs. They sat for a while after the dishes were cleaned, talking. She asked him about his work, and he told her about who he worked with, and how he spent his time. Charlie even laughed at her cop jokes.

He introduced her to the neighbors, and Eliza did her best to seem as though she remembered them. Her contributions to the conversations were vague, non-committal responses. Charlie chalked it up to nerves, and she let him.

He drove her around town, once again pointing out all the places she would need to know. When they drove past the hospital, Eliza’s stomach dropped at the sight of a black Mercedes in the lot. That didn't mean it was Carlisle, but Eliza couldn't shake the feeling it was.

They ended the tour at the grocery store, where Eliza took the lead. She wasn't much of a chef, but cooking couldn’t be that hard, right? If they bought healthy things, they had no choice but to be healthy. Right?

They ended up buying a lot of chicken and beef, meat being one of the only things Eliza knew how to make. It was a start, at least. She loaded the car with fruit and vegetables despite Charlie's obvious dismay. Cookie ingredients were mysteriously added to the cart when Eliza wasn't looking.

As they stood at the checkout, Eliza turned around to glance at the magazine headlines. Out of the corner of her eye she saw some of the nicest caramel colored hair she’d ever seen. Eliza’s eyes widened. She whirled around, thanked the cashier, and sped off with the cart as they handed Charlie his change.

“Bells, wait up!” Charlie huffed, running to catch her.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to go that fast,” Eliza lied. “I want to get back and make these cookies before it gets too late!” It was only the afternoon, so she would have no problem finishing the cookies, but she needed to get out of there.

As they drove, Eliza calmed herself. She wasn't scared, per say. Not really. "Nervously excited" was a better term. She still had no proof that she saw a vampire. But that _hair_...she was hyper-aware of all signs that screamed vampire, and it looked like Esme.

In Twilight, the Cullens were great people. Part of her wanted to find them and befriend them. The other, more rational part of her was telling her they were the greatest threat to her secret. If anyone could discover who she was and where she came from, it was them. Edward, Alice, and Jasper's powers combined would be nearly impossible to avoid. A quiet voice in her mind asked what the problem was if they found out, but Eliza was not in the mood to ruminate on it.

They spent the evening in the kitchen, Eliza whipping up cookies post-dinner. As it turned out, Charlie was a fan of the music that made up the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. He quietly sang along as Eliza spun around the kitchen, mock-singing the words into a spoon as she worked. He was opening up, and so she tried to do the same.

He paused their duet to run up to his bedroom, returning with a small box. “I, uh, I got somethin’ for you. Here.”

Eliza took the box, slipping the cover off. Inside was a cell phone, new for 2005. She recognized it's style from the box in her old home where her family kept their obsolete devices. “Ch-Dad…you didn’t have to do this, I don’t need it!” Secretly, Eliza knew using a phone that wasn't her iPhone would drive her crazy.

“It’ll make me feel better, Bells. Sometimes I’m going to have to get ahold of you and neither of us will be near a phone. This way you can call me whenever you need, wherever you are, too. My number’s already in there. I wanted to get this for you, for my sake if not yours, so, don’t get all emotional on me.”

Eliza smiled at Charlie once more, putting the phone in her pocket. He may be bad with emotions, but he still showed he cared. “You got it, Chief!” Charlie smiled too, relieved his gift was well received. It wasn't long before they turned their music back on.

When she went to bed that night and thought about what she left behind, it was with a little less sadness than the night before. However, Eliza felt bad because…she wasn’t exactly miserable. One shouldn’t be dancing and singing, talking and laughing, when they lost their whole life. Right?

She hoped that wherever her family was, they were happy, like she may be soon enough. She had a place to call home, and a…well, a father, that cared for her. Things weren’t so bad here, after all. Of course, high school could change that attitude fast, but Eliza was not to be bothered by it as she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! The stage is set, and the Cullens will make their appearance in the next chapter.
> 
> Some of you may be confused as to how I'm writing Eliza. While I was developing her character within this story, I figured the general idea of a person's reaction to being in this situation would be extreme (terrified, angry, miserable). However, I asked myself, "how would a person feel if they didn't...feel? If they never experienced this overwhelming, defining, emotional reaction that left a massive impact on everything they did?" I've done something similar, hitting large milestones like the first time traveling in Europe, graduating high school, starting college, without any being this monumental...thing. That's how I'm writing Eliza; she gets to this world and things happen, and she sort of moves on and adjusts without meaning to skip that reaction - it just never comes. I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense, I'll explore what she IS feeling in later chapters when she meets the Cullens...one special one in particular...


	3. Gorgeous

Eliza woke before her alarm that morning, although she didn't open her eyes. It was still and quiet, the world not yet awake. She almost believed that when she stepped out of her bedroom, she'd be greeted by Bing. 

Eliza’s eyes snapped open at the sound of her alarm clock. “Noooo…,” she groaned pitifully. As she was preparing to hit the snooze button and go back to her dream, Charlie yelled through the door.

“Get up, Bells! Don’t want to be late for your first day!”

It was bizarre, how what used to be complete fiction was her new reality. Alas, hiding in her room pretending it wasn't true wouldn't change a thing.

Like she did every morning, Eliza took a hot shower. She combed her hair out, brushed her teeth, and applied the little makeup she wore. Repeating her old habits gave her a level of comfort and confidence she desperately needed. It almost made the day seem normal, although there was nothing normal about her circumstances. 

She picked out a new athletic quarter-zip, along with a new pair of jeans and her tennis shoes. Eliza then stood in front of her mirror and repeated 'Bella, Bella Bella...,' trying to get into a "Bella" mindset, until she was 89% confident she wouldn't introduce herself as Eliza. Throwing school supplies into the backpack Charlie had bought, she went downstairs. Charlie was flipping pancakes, and to her delight, they weren’t burning.

“Mornin’ Bells,” Charlie rumbled. It seemed he hadn’t had his daily serving of coffee yet.

“Hey Dad,” Eliza responded. She wasn't sure if she should feel bad about it, but the title already fit him in her mind.

Sitting down, Charlie divided the pancake pile evenly between them. Together, they devoured every last one. The maple syrup, too, was half gone when they were finished with it.

As they readied to leave for their day, Charlie put a hand in front of Eliza to stall her departure. “I know that to the other students I’m not exactly ‘cool,’ so I thought I’d arrange for other transportation to school.” Eliza was expecting this, but readied herself to look surprised. “Go outside.”

Eliza walked out, and saw Bella’s trademark red truck sitting in the driveway. The Blacks must have dropped it off while she was asleep.

“You remember old Billy Black? The truck was his. He fixed it up real nice, and I got a real good price for it, and-" Eliza cut Charlie off with a hug.

“Thanks, Dad. I love it.” And Eliza meant it. Going as red as the truck, Charlie muttered his response. It was quiet enough that Eliza didn’t catch it, but she knew he was pleased. Stepping away, Eliza caught the keys from him.

“Drive safely, Bells! Don’t forget to check in with the office, they should be expecting you.” Eliza figured the whole town would be expecting her, if yesterday was anything to go by. Charlie had, evidently, told everyone he knew that Bella was coming to live with him. It was sweet, but it wasn’t making anything easier for her. “I’ll see you after school as long as nothing comes up at work!”

Eliza hopped in the front and adjusted the driver’s seat and mirror. She took a moment to familiarize herself with its interior. The truck was unique, like she was. Out of place in an odd world. She felt connected to it at once. Turning the key, the engine rumbled to life and she was off. Eliza had requested that Charlie show her the route to school the day before. Thus, she didn't get lost. Not even once.

All heads in the parking lot turned to watch her as she pulled into a spot. What was with these students loitering outside? When she was in high school, the various groups had all huddled by the lockers of their defacto leaders. Stupid.

Forks High was an old brick building straight from the movies. With a deep breath, Eliza stepped out of the truck. She ignored the gossiping students as she made her break for the door. As she did so, Eliza looked to the section of the lot that would determine how her day (and life) was going to go. Unfortunately for her, sitting in that area were two cars that stood out from the rest. A silver Volvo XC60, and a bright red Mercedes CLK-350 convertible. Darn. Stephenie Meyer wasn't wrong about them. Her stomach turned over with nerves.

The Cullens were not partaking in the parking lot social hour, and Eliza didn't want to, either. Going inside meant a greater chance she'd meet one, but she could worry about that later. With a sigh, Eliza continued into the building.

When Eliza found the office, it was devoid of students. The woman at the desk looked up as she approached, annoyed at the intrusion. Putting on the friendliest smile she could muster, Eliza addressed the woman. “Good morning! I’m new, uh, Bella. Swan. Bella Swan." What happened to forming coherent sentences?

“They told me to expect you, Bella. Let me grab your schedule.” The woman kept looking her over as she got the necessary paperwork in order. She had no tact. Of course, the police chief’s daughter drew similar attention in Twilight. It would only be worse from her fellow students.

The woman handed her a map, her schedule, and gave directions to get her started. “Thank you!” Eliza said to the woman on her way out. She could’ve swore she heard the woman answer with a ‘good luck,’ but she couldn’t be sure.

As Eliza navigated to her first class, she looked for any sign of a Cullen. She figured their appearances would knock her off her feet, but she wanted to see them before they saw her. Despite her attentiveness, she was caught off-guard by the approach of a short, eager boy. Based on his appearance, she guessed this was Eric.

“Hi! My name is Eric!” Yep. “You’re the new girl, right? Bella Swan? The Chief’s daughter!” An interrogation so soon?  Eliza was not in the mood to deal with him, no matter how harmless.

“The one and only,” Eliza responded without much enthusiasm. “And no, you cannot do a story on me for your newspaper.” She cringed - she shouldn’t know that. He was holding a camera in his hand, so she used it to cover her blunder. "The camera, that’s what it’s for, isn’t it?”

Eric recovered from his surprise quicker than she expected. "That's right! And are you sure? Students would love to know all about you!”  
  
Eliza gave a sarcastic hum. "I’m sure they would. I don’t care. No offense, but I’m not keen to be in the spotlight more than I already am.”

Eric nodded as he followed along, seemingly content to walk her the entire way to class. “Fair enough, but let me know if you change your mind! Is this you?” Eliza had stopped in front of her room, and was looking at him in a way she hoped said he was dismissed.

“Yeah, and I’m about to be late. Good meeting you, Eric,” Eliza hinted.

Undeterred and with a smile on his face, Eric responded with a smile. “I’ll be seeing you, Bella!”

Rolling her eyes, Eliza walked into the room. Charlie had pulled through in getting her put in Advanced Placement classes. If she had to repeat high school, she was at least going to learn something. The teacher had yet to start class, greeting her at his desk.

“I don’t think there’s a need for a class introduction,” he said with a smile. “But it’s nice to meet you, Bella. Will you be able to keep up?”

“Trust me, I’ll be fine,” Eliza assured him. She’d taken AP Calculus before and survived, she could do it again.

“Alright, go ahead and take a seat.”

Eliza took an empty desk near the front so she wouldn’t have to talk to many people, scanning the room as she did. No vampires, and she didn’t recognize any more people, so she prepared for class.

The hour dragged by as math always does. The next three classes were much of the same. None of the teachers made her introduce herself. They probably felt bad for how much unwanted attention she already had. Surprisingly enough, there were no vampires in those classes, either. AP Psychology, Computer Science (OLD computer science), and AP U.S. History all passed without anything interesting happening.

She met all of Bella’s friends at some point or another during those classes. She met Angela, who was nice enough. Lauren and Jessica were annoying, not worth her time. Mike was infuriating - she anticipated her fist would meet his face soon if she wasn’t careful. One thing was for certain: she was _not_  going to sit with them at lunch. What _was_ going to be at lunch, though, was making her anxious.

Upon entering the lunchroom at the start of their meal hour, Eliza heard ‘Bella’ begin to float amongst the students. They all tried, and failed, to make it look like they weren't staring.

She stood in line and got her food, before making her way to an empty table. It was strategic. Her table was away from humans she wanted to avoid, and on the opposite side of the room from the door. The exact side door that spelled the beginning of the end for Bella in Twilight. As lunch began, Eliza kept her eyes from roving, although she wanted to. Internally, the desire to befriend the Cullens, and the desire to avoid them, waged war.

Halfway through lunch, Eliza opened her book. At one point she shot an angry glare at a few boys that had started to make their way over to her. They immediately took on the look of deer caught in headlights, and turned around. Eliza went back to her book and kept reading as she finished her food, still refusing to look around.

After her food was gone, Eliza got up to put her tray away. Sitting back down, her treacherous eyes snapped up to the opposite side of the lunchroom. Over the heads of several other tables, Eliza immediately found _them_. In the time it had taken her to put her tray away, they had all arrived at Their Table™. She should have noticed the shift in the atmosphere of the room.

Meyer's description of the vampires was spot on. Pale skin, stony complexions, impeccable hair. Jasper, blonde and curly; Emmett, dark-haired and bulky; Alice, short and stylish; Edward, messy and moping. The Twilight explanation of their inhuman draw didn't hold a candle to experiencing the real thing.

Eliza turned to look at the final figure. Upon doing so, her heart stopped. Rosalie…Rosalie was breathtaking. Rosalie Hale was an ethereal vision. Golden waves falling down past her shoulders, rose-colored lips, a flawless figure. When Eliza's heart started beating again, it was for _her_.

Someone walking in Eliza's field of vision released her. In the seconds that followed, her emotions jumped from elation, to dismay, to anger, to sadness, to confusion. It was emotional whiplash the likes of which was never felt before.

It took her brain several moments further to catch up to the fact that the Cullens looked familiar. In fact, they looked nearly identical to the actors who portrayed them in the movies. Maybe more accurate in age, but there was no mistaking the similarity.

Eliza, free of their spell, looked more closely. They were arguing with one another - which did nothing to diminish their glamor. At least, Edward and Rosalie were arguing. Jasper looked like he was in pain. Emmett seemed amused. Alice was staring back at Eliza with pure, unadulterated joy on her face.

Growing uncomfortable under Alice’s attention, Eliza turned around and began to pack her things. She needed to regroup. Fleeing the lunchroom, she went right for the emptiest corner of the library.

The effect those vampires had on you was no joke. Leaning back against the wall, Eliza let out the breath she’d been holding and closed her eyes. Why was she nervous? They meant her no harm...not right now, at least. And Alice looked so friendly…had she been expecting her? 

When the bell rang, Eliza lingered in the library a few minutes longer. She wasn’t sure she could handle seeing a Cullen again so soon. Would she always react to seeing them that way?  
  
She made it to her next class with a minute to spare. That was, unfortunately, Biology. When she walked in, she saw an Edward Cullen staring her down with unabashed dislike.

Naturally, the teacher instructed her to sit next to said vampire. She sat as far away as she could from him, that still counted as being at the station. He did the same.

She caught him looking at her during class, his dislike for her etched onto his face all the while. After the third time she caught him, she responded in kind with a glare of her own. His eyes narrowed, lips curling downward. He whipped back around to the front of the room, and didn’t look at her again for the rest of class. Fine by her.

She’d gotten a good look at him, and she wasn’t impressed. Was he conventionally attractive? Sure. But he needed to comb his hair, and generally do something about his face. The important thing was she did not find herself _attracted_ to him, which was not unexpected.  No, there wouldn’t be any romantic entanglements with Dickward. That alone could put her out of (some) danger.

When the bell rang he was gone as fast as humanly possible, and Eliza was glad for it. She took her time gathering her things, letting him create distance between them. Her next class was AP English Literature. When she walked in, the teacher introduced themselves, but didn't have her do so for the class. She instructed Eliza to take a seat, of which she said there was only one left.

Eliza turned and walked to her seat. Her mistake? To look up. She was immediately captured in the honey-colored gaze of Rosalie Hale. Of course, the only open seat was next to her. Typical.

Proud of how quickly she withdrew herself from Rosalie’s enchantment, Eliza starting moving again and set her things down. Rosalie was still staring as she took her seat, so Eliza glanced back over. Rosalie seemed friendly enough: her lips were parted (oh, those lips), and her gaze was gentle.

Her eyes conveyed an emotion that Eliza couldn’t place, but it set butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Then, Rosalie’s eyes darkened, her face hardened, and she settled into her trademark glare. Eliza knew that any other person would be cowering under it, but she was not. She only stared back, curious. Why on Earth was Rosalie so angry with her?

The teacher cleared her throat and Eliza blinked, turning to the front. Rosalie stared a moment longer, but she refused to look. As class went by, Eliza became aware of a few boys whispering together the next row over. She heard 'Rosalie' coupled with words that should never stain her name, and Eliza found herself growing angrier by the second. She stretched her left leg and slammed her foot into the leg of the worst boy's chair. He jumped, his pencil went flying, and the boys were silenced as the teacher leveled them with her own glare. Her reprimand kept the boys silent for the rest of class, and they never discovered the source of their embarrassment.

During these events, Eliza had been aware of Rosalie's gaze on her the entire time. Eliza refused to look, although her own eyes burned to do so. The girl next to her was objectified and sexualized more than any other Cullen. Rosalie deserved so much better. It would take willpower, but Eliza determined that she would be Rosalie’s reprieve, whether she liked her or not. Eliza doubted she could keep it up for long, but she had to try.

Lost in thought, she almost didn’t catch the teacher's question.

“Bella? I don’t know your past curriculum, but I'm curious: what is your favorite literary masterpiece?”

Now _that_ was the sort of question Eliza liked to answer. “The Lord of the Rings, without a doubt.” The teacher looked intrigued.

“A unique choice not covered by this class. What is one of your favorite quotes, may I ask?” The class was silent, waiting with bated breath, hanging on Eliza’s every word. These people _really_ needed more excitement in their lives. Rosalie, too, was waiting for the revelation that would be Eliza’s response. Without any trouble, the perfect quote came to mind, which Eliza relayed word-for-word.

_“Home is behind, the world ahead,_   
_and there are many paths to tread_   
_through shadows to the edge of night,_   
_until the stars are all alight.”_

The teacher smiled as the class shifted, talking about her once more.

“Lovely, Bella. I quite like that one myself.” With that, the teacher turned to her lesson plan, and began her lecture on their next author.

Willpower already failing, Eliza turned to Rosalie, who was no longer glaring. She was searching Eliza’s eyes for something. Then, without subtlety, she let her gaze roam over Eliza’s figure as though taking in every detail. Rosalie’s gaze ended back on Eliza’s eyes. An eyebrow arched ever so slightly, her lips turning up in a hint of a smile. A second later her face shifted into surprise, before her glare returned. She looked away, picked up her pencil, and began to furiously copy the teacher's notes.

That was...unexpected. Eliza's heart was beating rapidly, and she cursed under her breath. Rosalie paused in her writing. Eliza remembered the vampire next to her had _exceptional_ hearing. Damn.

Both girls began taking notes, stubbornly ignoring each other. Eliza stopped herself from looking anymore. The effort it took to do so had her seriously questioning how effective her willpower would be in Rosalie's case.

When class finished, Rosalie was up and out of the room as quickly as Edward had been. Eliza couldn't help but be disappointed Rosalie left in the manner that she did. Out in the hallway, she had vanished.  
  
Eliza’s final class was physical education, and she was looking forward to it. She could get rid of all her pent up stress and…whatever it was she was feeling for a certain blonde vampire. Eliza didn’t remember Bella having gym with any of the Cullens, so she went to the class feeling relieved. After a fast change, she managed a friendly “hi” to Angela while avoiding the other girls.

Upon entering the gym, Eliza almost smacked her face in frustration. She saw not one, but _two_ Cullens. Alice and Emmett were having an animated conversation with the teacher. Eliza wanted to do an about-face and flee, but as she made the mental decision to do so, Alice turned around with a bright smile. She ran, no, skipped over to Eliza, and Eliza was incapable of leaving. Alice ended with a bounce in front of her, staring into Eliza’s eyes with that same smile on her face. Alice’s eyes were pretty, but nothing like Rosalie’s. Wait. What?

“Hi! You’re Bella Swan, right? I’m Alice Cullen. It’s so nice to meet you!” Alice’s voice was high, and melodic, exactly like in Twilight.

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you, Alice!” Alice’s smile grew at her words, if that was possible, but the teacher's whistle interrupted them. Alice started to turn away from Eliza, who found herself following.

“To be continued! I’m not done with you yet, Bella Swan!” Alice yelled back to her as she ran away. Eliza blinked, coming out of another vampiric-daze. The teacher had them running laps around the gym, and Alice and Emmett were running together near the front already. Shaking her head, Eliza jogged to catch up. She was much more athletic than Bella was, so by the end of their warm-up, Eliza had moved to the front of the _human_ pack.

“Alright! Today we’re going to head out to the fields and keep playing soccer. Swan, you’ll be on the blue team. Grab a jersey and head out!” On the field, students in blue and red spread out on either end. Those not playing the first half sat on the sidelines, Alice among them. 

“Swan! You’re up! Get out there and play left wing defense!” That, she could do. Except Emmett was starting midfielder for the red team. What if someone fell and bled? Eliza snuck a glance at Alice. The short vampire could see the future, so they wouldn’t be here if a student was going to bleed. As the players waited for the teacher's whistle, her eyes found Emmett's. They narrowed, a challenging smile on his face that Eliza mirrored. The whistle blew, and the game began.

Ten minutes in, Eliza was frustrated. Emmett hadn’t shown off any vampiric abilities, but no one could touch him. He’d slipped through their players for three goals, and Eliza knew that was with him holding back. She’d tried most of the maneuvers she knew, but she couldn’t stop him.

Emmett, for his part, looked to be enjoying himself. He dribbled the ball down her end of the field again, not paying attention to where Eliza was. He sized up another boy playing defense for the blue team, who was foolish enough to take Emmett on. Eliza saw her chance. She backed up as Emmett ran forward, behind the boy Emmett was focused on. As Emmett planted his left foot, aiming to cut with his right, he left a large space between his legs with the ball in the open. Running around the other boy, Eliza slid at this moment; not tackling or hitting Emmett, but taking the ball with her as she cleared his legs.

Jumping to her feet Eliza took off, cutting her own path through the red team, who hadn’t been paying attention with Emmett doing all their work. Eliza planted her own right foot, and with a mighty kick of her left, sent the ball flying to the upper-right corner of the goal. It sailed over the goalie's head. An exemplary shot with her weaker foot.

Pleased with herself and unable to hide her grin, Eliza turned. Emmett still stood in the spot where she’d stolen the ball from him. He was staring at her in shock. It was priceless. A glance to the side showed Alice looking stunned. The teacher blew the whistle and called for substitutions.

“Great shot, Swan! I haven’t seen a move like that before, you’re not even a leftie! Go take a breather, you earned it.” Sitting down, Eliza saw Alice slide past Emmett and whisper to him before taking the field. Emmett also came off the field, but stayed over by the red team. Eliza could tell he was shooting her glances every now and then.

Resting on the sideline, Eliza thought about the ramifications of her display. Alice and Emmett had definitely noticed her now, and that was _not_ what she’d wanted. Or was it? In the moment it was. 

Eliza spent the rest of the hour only paying partial attention to the game. When the teacher blew the final whistle, Eliza was off the field ahead of everyone else. She changed in record time, and darted out of the locker room before she was caught in a conversation. Unfortunately for Eliza, a short, pale figure was leaning against the lockers outside. Alice was waiting for her.

The shortest vampire had meant what she’d said, apparently. “Bella! That move you pulled on Emmett was crazy!” Alice acted innocent enough, but her eyes were inquisitive.

“Oh, thanks! I’ve played soccer for a long time, so it wasn’t that difficult.” Eliza pursed her lips in annoyance, once again forgetting important information about Bella. Was it common knowledge that Bella wasn't coordinated and didn't play sports? She wasn't sure.

Alice began walking alongside Eliza, continuing in an excited voice. “No one’s beat him like that before, it was so cool! I did _not_ see that move coming.” Eliza froze at Alice’s words, privy to her hidden meaning. And still, Alice betrayed nothing about her motives.

“Is something wrong?” Alice was looking at Eliza with concern. Eliza, for her part, was staring at Alice.

“Er, yeah! No, yeah, I’m fine! I’m surprised no one’s done that before, that’s all. He’s so big, if you’re quick it’s not that difficult to get around him!” Damnit, Eliza, he can probably hear you, don’t piss him off. Alice just laughed. Eliza couldn't help but chuckle, too. The Cullens were irresistible (with the exception of Edward).

“Don’t let him hear you say that! You might hurt his feelings!” Alice’s face held mischief, and Eliza guessed it was rare that anyone got the better of Emmett in gym. They reached the exit and walked down the steps. Three pale figures stood by the red Mercedes - Edward's car was gone.

“Aw, I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’d be lucky if that ever happened again!” Eliza smiled as best she could, shifting nervously from side to side. She wasn't used to being the object of fascination for a family of vampires. Alice looked like she wanted to talk more, but caught on that Eliza was hoping to escape to the safety of her truck.

“I’ll let you get going, we’ve got errands to run! It was absolutely amazing to meet you, Bella. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Alice began to back away. A small part of Eliza wanted to run away, run away from Forks and never look back, but Alice was looking at her with such a hopeful face. Rosalie's gaze was felt on Eliza, too. There was no way she could resist either of them, any thoughts of leaving disappearing from her mind. 

“It was good to meet you, too, Alice! For sure, tomorrow!” Eliza replied with a wave, before speed-walking for the refuge that was her truck. She jumped in, threw her seatbelt on, turned the key, and drove off as quickly as the truck would let her. As her distance from the school increased, her body relaxed. She made it through the day.

That night, Charlie and Eliza cooked real food. Sure, it was only tacos - browned hamburger with seasoning and fixings, but still, it counts. Charlie asked her how her day was, and Eliza told him everything. Except for the part about maybe befriending five vampires. In return, she asked him what he knew of the Cullen family. Charlie gave her a similar answer to what he gave Bella in Twilight. Carlisle was a doctor doing 'real good work' at the local hospital. He and Esme had adopted all their kids. The kids were nice and never got into trouble. He didn't tell her anything she didn’t already know.

Eliza spent the night thinking over the day's events. Her goal of not standing out was a complete failure. By now, Carlisle and Esme were probably aware of every interesting thing about her they'd observed so far. That didn't bother her as much as it should have. Instead, Eliza already felt like they were all friends. It was completely illogical, wasn't it? To feel that way after one day at school? Yes. And yet, here she was.

One Cullen in particular was the main subject of Eliza's thoughts. It was overwhelming, the depth with which Eliza was already taken with Rosalie Hale. Especially since Rosalie reverted to glaring at Eliza every time her face was remotely friendly. And the worst part? Eliza could feel, deep down, that she had moved beyond the infatuation stage. This was more. Again, illogical. Eliza was learning she had to throw out her rule book when vampires were involved.

She fell into a restless sleep. When she woke the next morning, her first thought was of Rosalie Hale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliza...what a gay mess. Eliza is already quite smitten with Rosalie, isn't she? I'd bet money that Rosalie is Feeling Things™, too. Exploring the concept of mates is so fun. And yes, Eliza is not the best at hiding that she's "different." I want to really establish her relationship with the other Cullens in these first chapters as well, and it makes sense to me that they would catch onto her being different rather quickly. 
> 
> The next chapter will be up soon! The next one is actually shorter, so I might edit that and write the following chapter right away to compensate.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. About A Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry!
> 
> This is coming three days later than I wanted it to. I had a hard time with this chapter, because while the fic focuses on Eliza/Rosalie, I needed this chapter to lay the foundation for Eliza's friendships with the other Cullens. The last thing I want to do is state "they're friends" with no build-up whatsoever, and hope you all believe me!
> 
> This is short, but necessary. Thank you for reading!

Eliza stabbed absentmindedly at her scrambled egg. Her rapidly cooling breakfast was the last thing on her mind.

“Bells…what did the egg do to you?” Eliza paused, blinking, and looking up at Charlie’s concern. “You _killed_ it, Bells…” He wasn’t exaggerating. The egg was mutilated, collateral damage from her morning musings.

“Sorry. I’m distracted this morning, I suppose.” Indeed she was. A certain vampire had made her home in Eliza’s mind, the only thing Eliza had thought of since waking up. Eliza wondered if the sheer strength of her crush on Rosalie would register on the Richter Scale.

“What’s got you so distracted? They can’t have given you much homework already. Are the other kids treating you well? I can talk to their parents if you want!” Oh, Charlie. If only you knew your daughter was just really, really gay for Rosalie Hale.

“You don’t need to rough anyone up for me, Dad. It’ll take a while to adjust and find my people, you know?” Charlie looked her over, nodding.

“If you’re sure. Take care of yourself, Bells.”

“You got it, Dad.”

 

Her truck remained the main attraction of the morning for the student body. Eliza power-walked inside, ignoring all human students. Of course, she failed to ignore the inhuman ones. A few of them hung by the Mercedes and a big, gray Jeep - Emmett’s.

Rosalie drew all Eliza's attention. She turned to look at Eliza, face unreadable, stunning as ever. The same unreasonable fear that one feels in the presence of their crush kicked into high gear. Eliza sped up, only looking over again to wave at Alice. She was smiling at Eliza, oblivious to the tension between Eliza and her sister.

At the safety of her locker, Eliza - gently - slammed her head against the metal. Then, another few times for good measure. “Ohhh…this is ridiculous.” It took one day. Less than a day. An hour. All this, about a _girl_.

The first four hours of her day passed by without excitement. She had a difficult time focusing on her classes, try as she may. Despite her best efforts, Rosalie was not banished from her mind.

During lunch, Eliza schooled her features and tried to be casual with her glances at the Cullens. She was already becoming used to their striking features. Well, all except Rosalie’s.

Only four figures were at their table today - Edward _was_ gone. That left her fear all but confirmed; she was, most likely, Edward's blood singer. She didn’t know what to do about that. She didn’t know what she could do about that.

Ignoring the Edward problem, Eliza focused on Jasper. He was staring right back, looking curious.

Alice was holding Jasper’s hand. Alice, too, was staring at Eliza, that same curiosity on her face. Eliza wondered...were they reading her? She grimaced and shifted nervously, knowing full well what Jasper sensed from her if that was true. Hopefully, he hadn’t shared it with Rosalie.

Eliza worried about what Alice saw in her future, if she was looking. Was it anything that let on who she was? That was more likely to happen the closer she got to them. She wanted to tell them on her own terms.

To test her theory, Eliza decided to be purposely indecisive. Looking down, Eliza saw her milk carton. Smirking, Eliza went back and forth on deciding if she should drink her milk, coming up with reasons for and against doing so each time. A look at Alice saw her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Jasper was looking at Alice, confused as well. Nice.

Smiling to herself, Eliza leaned back, and continued her assessment of the table’s occupants. Emmett gestured wildly as he told Rosalie a riveting story. Rosalie herself wasn’t engaged in the conversation, looking at him passively. Jealousy clawed into the pit of Eliza's stomach, for which she immediately felt guilty. In Twilight, Rosalie and Emmett were a couple. She had to respect that. No need to be a prick simply because she fell for a straight girl.

At that moment, Rosalie looked up, and their eyes met. The din of the room receded. Rosalie seemed incapable - or unwilling - to break the quiet that settled over them. Did she know of her hold over Eliza? Rosalie's eyes darkened, and then…something broke in. Eliza felt herself...dull. It didn't feel natural.

What was that? Right, Jasper. He was staring at Rosalie, not blinking. Rosalie, for her part, was glaring back. Jasper didn’t look angry, only…cautious. Why had he intervened? Alice and Emmett didn’t seem to notice, now engaged in their own conversation.

Eliza had to _feel_ something again, anything. She grabbed her things and jogged from the lunchroom. Increasing distance from them freed her emotions of Jasper’s control. Everything she felt for Rosalie returned anew. It was like hitting a wall of emotion, almost causing her to stumble. This. Was. Ridiculous.

Eliza made her way to Biology, and had a wonderful time - there was no Edward to ruin it. Except, when reviewing her notes near the end of class, Eliza saw she'd written Rosalie's name in place of other words by accident. Ridiculous didn't even _begin_ to explain this.

When it was time to leave for English, Eliza’s stomach dropped and nerves returned in full force. Rational thought was hard to come by in the next moments.

Rosalie was there, sitting in her seat, reading a book. She didn’t look when Eliza sat down, nor when Eliza organized her things for the class. Rosalie was, overall, having no trouble ignoring Eliza. Eliza knew because she was…well…staring at Rosalie. And she was pissing herself off. Wasn’t she more respectful than the buffoons she went to school with?

It wasn't all her fault. There was a tension within, always teasing her, fighting to drag her eyes over to the vampire.

With class ending, Rosalie stood to leave. As Rosalie left, Eliza managed to catch the title of the book she'd been reading: _The Lord of the Rings_. Well, what a coincidence. Was it, though? That book came out in 1954 - she must have read it by now, surely?

Eliza arrived for her final hour of the day stuck on thoughts of Rosalie. Alice was sitting on the bleachers next to Emmett. Alice turned when Eliza walked in, face splitting into a large smile.

“Bella! Over here!” Alice waved, Eliza immediately complying. “How are you today? You slept well!” Emmett nudged her. “You look like it, I mean!”

“I did, thank you,” Eliza said, amused at Alice's near-slip. “What about you, Alice? How did you sleep?” It wasn't a fair question, but Eliza wanted to see the vampire's reaction.

Without missing a beat, Alice replied, “Great! I completed _five_ REM cycles.” She nodded toward Eliza for emphasis.

"That's...good!" Eliza tried her best to keep her amusement from showing. 'Human' indeed.

Before Eliza could form another response, Alice grabbed her and pulled her down next to them. “Bella, I’d like to introduce you to my brother, Emmett! He’s been dying to meet you. All he’s talked about for hours is your soccer game from yesterday!

“Hey now, Alice, that’s not true!” Emmett protested. Sticking out his hand, Emmett shot Eliza a goofy grin. “Emmett! Glad to finally meet you, Bella! You caught me off guard yesterday, and dude, I have to give you mad respect for that. But I promise it won’t happen again!” As he boasted, Emmett slammed his right fist into his left palm.

Eliza wasn't one to back down from a challenge. A little competition didn't hurt anyone. “I promise I won’t make it easy on you, Cullen!”

Emmett’s eyes first widened, and then they narrowed. “I'm gonna hold you to that, Swan! This is the start of a _beautiful_ friendship.”

Alice cleared her throat, and shifted closer to Eliza, laying a hand on her arm. “Emmett, I found Bella first. Thus, she’s my friend, okay?”

“Too bad short stuff, I didn’t hear you call dibs!”

At the same time, they yelled “DIBS!”

Alice and Emmett continued to bicker over who got to be Eliza’s Number One Friend. It was pretty funny, actually, being fought over by two vampires. She smiled to herself. They were her friends now. It was a good feeling, especially considering how lonely she'd felt three days prior.

Speaking of feeling...Eliza looked down at Alice's hand. There was no body heat emanating from Alice. Meyer had emphasized the coolness of their skin in Twilight, but Eliza hadn't even noticed it at first. Alice's skin was cool (but not cold), with a unique hardness to it, yet soft and comfortable at the same time. The sensation wasn't jarring, not at all.

Alice noticed Eliza’s focus on her arm and pulled it back. “Oh, sorry!” Alice's smile had fallen, her face sad.

“No, no need for that!” Eliza smiled, putting her own hand on Alice's arm. “I zoned out there, my bad!” Alice smiled in return, relieved, and Emmett did the same.

 

The three friends stuck together during class. Unfortunately, Eliza was unable to get the better of Emmett in soccer. Alice cheered her on nonetheless. She did manage two goals when Emmett wasn’t on the field, which were much less rewarding.

Walking from the field after class, Emmett pulled her into his side for a half-hug, laughing as they walked. “Good game today, Bella! I told you I won’t make it easy on you anymore! Better luck tomorrow.”

“Bro, tomorrow is my day!”

“We’ll see about that!”

Alice walked on Eliza’s other side. She slipped her arm through Eliza’s as soon as Emmett loosened his grip, yanking Eliza into her own side. The vampires stuck their tongues out at each other behind her as they went.

They parted ways at the locker rooms. Alice hung back to tell Emmett something, leaving Eliza to enter the locker room alone. They had taken their time walking, so the majority of the other girls in their class were gone, except for two. Jessica and Angela were standing by the door, arguing. Upon her entrance into the locker room, Jessica rounded on Eliza.

“Bella! Were you talking with the Cullens during class today?” Eliza knew that Jessica had seen them. More than once, now.

“That _is_ how one effectively communicates, yes," Eliza replied, sarcasm dripping from her words. "You know I was, Jessica. It's none of your business, but I'm curious - what’s the big deal?"

Jessica’s mouth dropped open as she stared incredulously at Eliza. “What’s the big deal? I know you’re new, but you _have_ to know that the Cullen’s _don’t talk_. They don’t talk to _anyone_ , and you’re here two days, and you’re already chatting two of them up like you’re besties! What gives?”

Alice chose this moment to waltz in the door from the gym and reattach herself to Eliza’s arm. “What are you all talking about?” Alice asked. Her tone was innocent enough, but Eliza knew Alice had heard every word.

Jessica, shocked from Alice speaking to her, was unable to respond. Angela intervened right away. “I told you it doesn’t matter, Jessica. Let it go. Sorry, Bella, forget it!” She started to pull Jessica away. “Jessica is only jealous,” Angela muttered angrily. Jessica shot a frustrated glance at each of them, before allowing Angela to drag her from the room.

“Alright, then,” Alice said. Pretending she was oblivious, Alice went to a stall to change. Eliza stared after them a moment longer before shaking her head. She did _not_ miss high school drama.

When they left the locker room soon after, Alice leaned close. "Don't let her bother you, Bella." Eliza paused and turned to look at Alice. Her eyes were dark. They hadn't been before entering the locker room minutes earlier. "She talks about us all the time. I wish she would leave you alone. It makes me so _angry_ that she would do that to you!" Alice's eyes had steadily darkened as she grew angrier.

Eliza put her hands on Alice's shoulders, looking down to meet her eyes. "Alice." Alice stopped, looking up at Eliza. Her black eyes were a little unnerving, but Eliza didn't let it show. "Alice, I don't care about them. I think you're _great_ , and I _want_ to be your friend. Nothing is going to stop me from doing that."

Alice smiled shyly. Her eyes lightened a couple of shades, although remained dark. "Thanks, Bella."

Most of the lot was empty once they arrived at the parking lot. Emmett waited for Alice by his Jeep, although the red Mercedes had vacated its place. Eliza realized Alice and Emmett had managed to keep her mind off Rosalie for an entire hour. Quite the accomplishment, all things considered. It was good to have friends.

“Come on, short stuff! We have things to do!” Emmett yelled to Alice.

The vampire in question grumbled something about ‘short,’ but sped up her pace. “I guess I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, Bella?”

“Definitely!” Eliza said, leaving for her own truck. Seconds later, Emmett’s Jeep roared out of the lot.

Eliza couldn't believe Alice had been so upset by Jessica on her behalf. She wondered if they were going hunting. It was probably best she had decided against pointing out that Alice "hadn't heard" what Jessica spoke to her.

 

For dinner, Eliza and Charlie ate leftovers. Charlie spent the meal telling Eliza about a case he was working on for the next town over. So little happened in Forks that Charlie lent his services to other departments. She wondered if James, Victoria, and Laurent would show up at some point and cause trouble for him. To be safe, she locked her window when she went up to her room. It wouldn't stop any vampire, of course, but it made her feel better.

Eliza spent that night in her room doing homework. It helped that she’d done it before when she went to high school for the first time. How the Cullens didn't go stir crazy in school, she didn't know.

She laid awake thinking for a long time that night. One thing Eliza found curious was how…teenage…Alice and Emmett acted. Their emotional development must have be frozen as they were at their transformations. Could they really mature, then, at all?

And Rosalie. Eliza still had no clue what was happening between them, nor how the blonde had such an effect on her. It was...impacting...her daily life. In many ways. Plus, as far as she knew, Rosalie was straight! But, she had no way to stop these feelings, and a part of her didn't want to.

Eliza turned over, sighing. The other thing? She had barely spared a thought for her old life all day. She was that far emotionally removed. She was that comfortable. Eliza couldn't decide if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

As she drifted off, the thought of Rosalie calmed her fears and carried her on to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday was a good day. I had a great workout, and I edited a fic to my posting level quality. Today? Gonna have another great workout, and maybe, just maybe, post again!
> 
> The chapter after this one came much easier to me - it's already in the editing stage! Things will begin to really develop between Rosalie and Eliza now.
> 
> Now I need to actually sleep. Next chapter up soon!


	5. Snapback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! I have returned. I'm sorry for taking so long to update. Completely my fault.
> 
> First of all, playoff football last weekend almost killed me. It was crazy. Your girl needed some time to recover. Now the same thing this weekend. Round 2 let's go!
> 
> Second, my new semester began on Tuesday, which means I now have real school-work to complete once again. If I decide to not be lazy and procrastinate, that is.
> 
> Unfortunately, this may be the pacing of updates from now on. I'm a good few chapters ahead, but they all need to be heavily edited. Thank you for your patience, I hope it pays off for you all! Enjoy Chapter 5!

_I can't stand it, I know you planned it_   
_I'm-a set it straight, this Watergate_

Eliza stood, fingers drumming on her desk as "Sabotage" played from her computer.

_I can't stand rockin' when I'm in here_  
_Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear_

_So while you sit back and wonder why_  
_I got this fucking thorn in my side_

It was one of her pre-game pump-up songs from back home. On this dreary Thursday morning, she needed its energy.

_Oh my god, it's a mirage_  
_I'm tellin' y'all, it's sabotage_

"BELLS!" Shit. She fumbled with the mouse, pausing the song.

Slowly opening the door, she found Charlie with his 'are you kidding me' look. "I yelled four times, Bells..." Eliza braced herself. "...Your breakfast is gonna be cold. Get your butt down there!"

With that, he turned and left. Whew. Eliza did the same, but then she heard Charlie yell over his shoulder. "Next time you want to wake up the neighborhood, play it a little louder! And open all the windows while you're at it!" There it is. Smart-ass.

Eliza reluctantly powered off her computer. That verse held some irony to it. Meyer's "crystal ball" wasn't  _entirely_  clear. Coming into Twilight  _was_  a bit of a thorn in the side, at least at first - although not so much anymore, partially (okay, mostly) because of a certain vampire. And she  _definitely_  sabotaged something in the process. A life? Oops. Sorry, Bella.

She proceeded to finish readying for her day. Eliza paused to look down at her outfit right as she left the room. It was missing something. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the perfect finishing touch hanging on the post of her bedframe: her new Nike snapback. A good snapback can take any outfit to the next level. Watch out, Forks.

By the time she made her way downstairs, her food was lukewarm. She didn’t care. She had one of her favorite songs to wake her up, an awesome hat, and another school day with  _her_. 

Driving to school, Eliza calculated the chances she'd find the nerve to talk to said girl. They were low. 

As Eliza jumped from her truck, her eyes flashed to the bright red Mercedes, and a flash of blonde from inside. Eliza stumbled and swore as she landed. Rosalie was too damn distracting. If she wasn't careful, she would end up in the same situation Bella found herself in with Tyler's van.

Eliza stood up, only to come face-to-face with a beaming Alice Cullen. “Bella! I’m so happy to see you again!” Alice threw her arms around Eliza’s shoulders, and Eliza couldn’t help but hug her in return. The vampire's hug was a little too tight, but Eliza didn't have the heart to tell her so.

“Whoa! I'm glad to see you, too, Alice!” Eliza tried to extricate herself from Alice. The girl was like an oversized Koala. She really gave that hug her all. Finally releasing Eliza, Alice immediately latched onto Eliza's arm, her new favorite place.

Alice brimmed with energy as she led Eliza to the door. “I missed you, alright? I haven't seen you in...seventeen hours!” Alice was too cute. Too cute to handle. Too cute, too early.

As they passed the Cullen cars, Rosalie emerged from her convertible. Her eyes immediately fell on the pair. Rosalie focused on the spot where Alice’s arm looped through Eliza’s, and her brow furrowed in annoyance. 

Alice didn’t seem to care. “Rosalie! Have you met Bella yet? Come walk with us!” Cue Eliza's internal screaming. A Gay Panic™ this early in the morning? Must be a new record.

Rosalie seemed to hesitate, too. She fidgeted, shifting where she stood. Ocher eyes moved between Eliza, her sister, and an interesting object behind them. Alice shrugged in response, and they continued on their way. Eliza tried (and failed) to ignore Rosalie’s odd behavior, same as Alice.

They had a few minutes before the school day began, so they stopped at Eliza’s locker. Alice turned and leaned against the next one over, watching Eliza as she put some textbooks away. Cool fingers tapped at Eliza's temple. Turning, she saw Alice looking at her intently.

“If we're going to be best friends, we need to know each other better!" Eliza smiled at Alice’s matter-of-fact words.

“Alright! Go ahead, shoot!"

Alice's mouth opened, aghast. "Why would I shoot you? I don't think that's something best friends do!" Oh, Alice. 

Eliza could see the wheels turning in Alice’s head as she thought about exactly what best friends did. She definitely didn't make human friends often, if at all. "No, no, it's a figure of speech! My bad. Ask away!" 

Alice giggled, relieved. "Right! So. Phoenix, was it? Must have been a lot warmer down there than it is here. Why would you want to leave all that sun?”

Eliza nodded as she organized her backpack. “I like the weather here. I’m used to the humidity and cold from Minnesota!” Damnit. Not below the radar. Alice was clearly confused. “I mean, I didn’t live there. Ever. I am from Phoenix." That didn't help. "But I have some, uh, distant family and friends that live there. Nice place! Good...bike lanes..."

"Uh huh…” Alice put a pleasant smile on her face, but her eyes were calculating. Her questions moved on, but Eliza knew Alice wouldn't forget her slip.

“Did you play soccer in Phoenix? You must have. You’re so good! I played some myself growing up, but I prefer more artistic pastimes. My favorite being -"

“- Fashion!” Eliza answered again without thinking. What was wrong with her? This was the opposite of discreet. Hadn't she mentally prepared for this? What was it about speaking to the Cullens that was so disarming?

Alice gaped at her. “…Yes, fashion. How did you know?”

Eliza needed to tread carefully. "Well, you’re dressed better than anyone else in the school!" Eliza gestured to Alice's entire form, showcasing another designer outfit.

Alice smiled, straightening at Eliza's assessment. “Why thank you! I do try my best to stay on top of all the latest fashions," she said, looking down thoughtfully at her outfit. Eliza shut her locker and they began to walk, no destination in mind. "I’d like to be a designer when I finish school!” Nice save, Eliza.

  
“Bella, do you like shopping much?" Oh no. "We should go some time! I could help you add to your wardrobe, spice things up, you know?” Eliza raised her eyebrows. "Not that there's anything wrong with your style! You rock the sporty, athileisure look.” Nice save, Alice.

Alice began rattling off designers that made clothes she thought Eliza would like. Seeing the enthusiasm on Alice's face, Eliza knew she couldn't say no. Honestly, how bad could shopping with Alice be?

The bell cut Alice off mid-list. “Shoot! I've got to run to the other end of the school, but I’ll talk to you soon! I’m still not finished with you, Bella Swan, not even close!” Alice warned with a smile.

Eliza returned it. “For sure!”

Her smile faded as Alice pranced away. Alice had so far chosen to ignore her blunders, but they definitely weren’t going unnoticed. She needed to be more careful.

Walking into History, Eliza stopped in the doorway. Jasper was sitting in the room. In the only open seat that had (before) been left empty. The seat next to her own.

It would seem she was now 3 for 3 with her guesses on the Cullens' behavior. Jasper was keeping tabs on her. Eliza was sure of it. She had two options: first, run away; second, sit down next to the least-vegetarian Cullen.

She sat down.

Jasper hadn't shown any outward signs of aggression so far, and he had agreed to join her period. Maybe Jasper had better control (and less violent tendencies) than Meyer had written.

Right after settling into her seat, Eliza felt a wave of calm wash over her. It was less jarring than before - Jasper must have picked up on her previous discomfort. Ever the gentleman.

The class passed by without Jasper speaking to her, for which Eliza was grateful. He would know immediately that something was off if she tried to lie, or fake ignorance to their condition.

He did shift every time her mind wandered to Rosalie. Which was often. Eliza couldn't believe Jasper was that sensitive to her emotions. She tried to rein in her thoughts and feelings about Rosalie, but had little success. Sorry, Jasper.

When the bell rang for lunch, Jasper immediately got up and left. Eliza took her time.

When she arrived, Eliza found a surprise at her table: Alice and Emmett. They both looked up at her at the same time, which was a _bit_  unnerving. Alice’s face shone as Eliza approached them.

“Bella! I hope you don’t mind us joining you today?”

As if. “Not at all! But won’t your siblings be a little upset?”  
  
Emmett brushed off her concern with a wave of his hand. “Rose and Jas? Nah, they’ll be fine. And Eddie-Boy isn’t here to sulk!”

Eliza looked over in the direction he’d waved. Like he said, Rosalie and Jasper were the only ones at the Cullen table. Rosalie was looking down, a crushed apple clutched in her hand. Jasper was sitting with his head low, talking to her. Saying she looked troubled was an understatement.

Jasper quickly glanced at Eliza, his face stern. Did he sense her concern? Attempting to push that aside for the time being, Eliza turned back to the visiting vampires.  
  
“If you’re sure you want to join me! I’m pretty boring, I don’t gossip. Everyone is so petty at this age, I can’t stand half the students here!”

Emmett laughed. “We couldn’t agree more, Swan!”

“Yes, it’s quite nice to meet a kindred soul for once!” Alice shifted her chair so she was right next to Eliza, and leaned into her side.

Eliza watched Alice fix something with Emmett's shirt. Their conversation earlier...the vampire was digging for information. Whether that was with innocent intent or not, it was a smart idea. She needed to know  _their_  cover story so she didn't mess up with a Twilight assumption. "Where are you guys from? I heard you moved here a couple of years ago!”

They both paused, and she didn't miss the side-eye they shared. Alice took the lead for this lie. “Our father, Carlisle, has never been one for big cities. The hospital here needed a doctor, and he jumped at the chance for small town life! We’d been living in Anchorage, so it was a nice change." Alice paused for half a second, staring wistfully into the distance. "I must admit, the lack of a decent shopping mall hurts my heart. But, we take trips to Port Angeles and Seattle enough that I can get by!”

Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes. “I should know, Jasper and I usually end up carrying all the bags.” Alice smacked Emmett on the arm, and Eliza noted how it sounded like someone slapping a stone surface. A thought came to her...it was time to have some more fun with Alice.

"You know, I don't go shopping that much! I only really go when I need to, which isn't often." Alice was frozen, staring at Eliza, not blinking. "But you know what I  _love_  shopping for? Athletic clothes. I could  _live_  in an athletic clothing store. That's my kind of shopping, no dresses or heels or jewelry."

Alice's eyes narrowed, still not blinking. Emmett was nodding in approval.

“Finally, someone who understands! You and me, Bella. Let me know next time you want to go, and we’ll find the closest athletic store. If Alice can’t deal with it, she doesn’t have to come!”

Alice broke free from her frozen state. She blinked once. She jumped. “I would  _too_  go! Just because I don’t wear sporty clothing myself doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the look!”

Alice looked up at Eliza with pleading eyes and her legendary pout. “Can I go along? Please?”

Eliza was helpless to deny that pout anything. “Of course! The more the merrier!”

Alice beamed, and grabbed Eliza in a tight hug. “Oh, I can’t wait! We can go whenever you’d like, I’m always ready for a shopping trip!” 

Eliza couldn’t see past the mop of stylishly messy hair in her face, but she heard Emmett's quiet snicker from the other side. “Rose can go with us! I’m sure she’d jump at the chance!”

Alice shot him a look, but couldn't keep a smile from her own face as she did. It looked to Eliza like their lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Emmett didn’t elaborate anymore, but his smile grew. He turned to their family table and winked at Rosalie, who was supplying him with a dirty look. Jasper, too, seemed amused at whatever was going down. When Rosalie turned back to him, though, it was gone.

The bell rang for the end of lunch. Emmett got up first and pulled Eliza into his side by the shoulder. “One thing real quick, Bella. Let me know if any punks give you trouble, and I’ll take care of ‘em for you!” 

Alice bounded up to them, attaching herself to Bella’s other side. “Me, too! If anybody says anything to you for hanging out with us, we'll handle it. I doubt they will, though!" Eliza wasn't one to bet against Alice. It was sweet, how much they cared, but Eliza couldn't care less what people like Jessica had to say. She was lightyears beyond that stuff.

Eliza went to Biology and once again spent it Edward-free. It was a nice feeling. Unfortunately, it took double her normal effort to focus. What was wrong with Rosalie in the lunchroom? What had caused her to lose her composure? At least she would be able to see if Rosalie was alright in English.

Eliza left Biology as a ball of nervous energy. She readjusted her snapback, straightened her shoulders, and brushed off her shirt. Then she paused in the hall and realized what she was doing. Eliza hadn't even heard the vampire speak before, and she was-. Yeah.

When Eliza walked into English, most other students were already seated, including Rosalie. Eliza felt her heart skip a beat at the sight, but kept moving. This time Rosalie was reading what looked like  _The Two Towers_. That meant she’d already finished  _The Fellowship of the Ring_ , which had been her book yesterday.  _What_  did that  _mean_?

As she sat down, Eliza didn't feel Rosalie's gaze. She was ignoring her, again. How was that possible? She needed to see Rosalie's eyes. She needed to hear her voice. An irrational streak of frustration flitted through Eliza, followed by fearlessness. Eliza was always suave, even in front of pretty girls. Not vampires, apparently, but that was about to change.

“Enjoying the story?” That was the best Eliza could come up with on the spot. All confidence left her as Rosalie’s head snapped up.

Rosalie looked…scared. Her eyes were dark. Slowly, her features softened as her gaze rested on Eliza’s face. “I am…I’d never read it before. You inspired me to try something new.”

Sweet Lord, Rosalie’s voice was mesmerizing. The way she spoke was smooth and silvery, with perfect enunciation. Eliza thought she could sit and listen to Rosalie speak forever, and never grow tired of the sound.

Eliza couldn't believe how sappy, clichéd, and hopelessly romantic she had become. But Rosalie actually  _talked_  to her, and she absolutely  _had_  to hear her voice again. If there was a time to be brave, it was now.

“I'm Bella Swan - I mean, you probably know that, everyone talks about everyone at this school.” Eliza wanted to smack her face on the desk repeatedly, and run away.

"And the teacher said your name the first day. Did you forget? You left quite the impression.” Rosalie's amusement and now-golden eyes were too much. Her voice, her eyes, her smile...no,  _everything_  about Rosalie was alluring.

Eliza was falling, falling deeper every moment.

Rosalie was looking at her with those soft eyes full of awe, and Eliza didn’t know what to do with herself. Luckily, the object of her affection took the lead.

“Rosalie Hale,” she whispered, gaze fixed on Eliza. “Lovely to make your acquaintance, Ms. Swan.”

“Likewise,…” Eliza trailed off, entirely caught up in the moment. Neither spoke as they both continued to stare at the other.

The teacher began speaking, and they had to break away for the sake of academia. Eliza turned, blinking. Rosalie turned, smiling.

Alright, Eliza had it bad. There was  _definitely_  no going back now. The urge to look Rosalie’s way was almost unbearable, but she was more determined than ever to be respectful. She’d gotten to stare for a good minute; the last thing Eliza wanted was to make Rosalie uncomfortable.

The class sped by and before Eliza knew it, the bell rang for them to pack up. Today, Rosalie didn’t exit the room at top speed. She took her time putting her things away, and waited until Eliza herself began to leave. Rosalie matched her stride to Eliza’s, the pair silently agreeing to walk together. 

The vampire carried herself with pride and grace. It wasn't difficult to see the 1930's elite in her. It was in watching Rosalie walk beside her that Eliza noticed she had almost an inch on Rosalie. That made her smile.

“Do you like it here, Bella?” Rosalie’s question caught her off guard. She turned to Rosalie, surprised at what she saw. The vampire looked as though Eliza's answer would be the single most important thing ever said to her. Eliza knew her answer right away. She should have been afraid of the certainty with which she believed it. Yet, caught up in golden sunshine, she was anything but.

“I do…" Eliza slowed, looking intently at Rosalie. "More every passing day…it helps that I’m meeting the right people.” Rosalie relaxed, but her face shone with a small smile.

They rounded a corner, only to walk into a senior boy Eliza recognized from the parking lot. He stared at Rosalie as though imagining an assortment of inappropriate things. For once, Eliza wished she could read thoughts like Edward. On second thought, she didn’t think she could bare to see what was running through the boy’s mind.

“Hey there, hot stuff." Eliza gagged. Disgusting. "You remember me? I thought I’d ask again, see if you’d changed your mind. I’m a free man now, if you want this,” he said, gesturing to himself. Eliza fumed. She couldn’t look at Rosalie in that moment, because she was seeing red.

Eliza stepped protectively in front of Rosalie, before Rosalie herself could respond. The senior looked at Eliza, and it was a like a scene out of those old western movies - one where both gunslinger’s eyes narrow preceding an epic duel. She was almost on eye level with him, so Eliza didn't hesitate to get right in his face.

“Back up, boy. You won’t touch her. You won’t talk to her. You won’t so much as look at her again, do you understand? Learn some respect, and leave her alone. If you don’t, I promise I will destroy you.” Eliza's words barely contained her anger. To her surprise, he didn’t laugh: he looked nervous. 

Embarrassed, unable to hide his fear, the boy scoffed. He moved to push her aside and away from Rosalie. “Hah. If you weren’t pissing me off, I’d be aroused. Get out of my way, princess.”

Oh. That was  _it_.

Eliza punched him in the face, her right cross sending him to the floor instantly. He groaned, a hand on his nose. Eliza reached down and grabbed the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground and dangling him in front of her.

“What did I say? Leave. Her. Alone. You uncultured swine! I won’t go easy next time.” She tossed the boy, who crumpled in a heap. Tears of pain forming in his eyes, he scrambled to his feet and stumbled off in the other direction.

Eliza was breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through her.  _No one_  treats Rosalie like that. Never again. Not with her here. 

Coming to her senses, her rage dissipating, Eliza realized that she did…that. The Police Chief’s daughter beat someone up at the local high school. There was the news headline they’d all been waiting for.

Eliza turned around. Rosalie was there, gaping in surprise as she stared at Eliza. Quickly, another emotion Eliza wasn't fast enough to decipher appeared in her eyes.

Eliza blushed. “Uh…sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me." Rosalie still hadn't moved, but at least she was no longer gaping, only staring. "I didn’t like the way he spoke to you. Or the way he looked at you. I didn’t like him. At all.”

Eliza rubbed her guilty fist, looking down as she spoke. “I’m sorry, I know you can handle yourself, but I couldn't-"

“That…was impressive." Rosalie continued to stare intently at Eliza. "Thank you, Bella." 

With that, Rosalie went from thankful damsel to irresistible vampire. Rosalie took a step forward, and Eliza grew warm as her personal space decreased.

Rosalie moved until they were mere inches apart, both hands coming up. One gently rested on Eliza's hip, the other brushing up the back of Eliza's neck to play with her snapback.

“My hero…” Rosalie’s mouth rose in a smirk. She knew  _exactly_  what she was doing to Eliza. Everything about this was unfair. She was giving Eliza  _those eyes_ , and playing with her hat, and smiling that smirk, and reading her favorite book, and she was so pretty that Eliza wanted to cry. Her poor, mortal, gay heart couldn't take much more.

Abruptly, Rosalie backed up. Eliza followed her movement before catching herself. Bemused, Eliza looked up at Rosalie, who sported a teasing grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bella,” Rosalie promised, before turning around. Eliza swore the strut in her walk was purposeful.

All too soon, Eliza was alone in the hallway. Heart racing, she reached a hand out to the wall to steady herself. Be still, oh heart.

Awareness of her surroundings returned now that Rosalie was out of sight. The hallway was empty, which meant she was late for gym. Making her way there, Eliza tried to decide how quickly Charlie would know of her little brawl. She was  _not_  looking forward to that conversation.

The bonus reward had been completely worth the risk, though. “Her hero…” Eliza mused, as she finally made it to gym.

The class was already outside, so Eliza didn’t bother changing. Out on the field, the teacher whistled to pause the soccer game and ran up to her. In the distance, Alice and Emmett watched her approach.

“Swan! Where have you been? It’s the first week and you’re already coming late?” 

“I was teaching a misogynist a lesson. For evidence, check my fist, and his face. I think he’s on his way to the hospital right now to see what they can do to fix that ugly nose of his.”

The teacher stared at her, eyes wide, before nodding. He lightly jabbed her on the arm. “Now  _there’s_  the fire Forks hasn’t had in years! Standing up for what’s right! I can’t fault you for that. Get on out there, Swan!"

The remaining time passed with Eliza running on the adrenaline of her afternoon. She actually managed to score a goal on Emmett. He likely let it through, but  _damn_  that felt good. Alice cheered off to the side, bubbly as ever.

The hour finished, and the students retreated for the locker rooms. Alice ran up and hung onto Eliza as usual. “Bella! You’re full of zip this afternoon, aren’t you tired?”

Emmett flanked Eliza on the other side. “Definitely a fire in you today, Swan! What gives? You almost made me look bad!”

Eliza smiled. “What can I say? It feels good to put misogynists in their place!"

Alice watched Eliza carefully. “I heard the coach say something about that, did you really hit him?”

“Oh yeah. Right cross to the center of the face. Knocked him off his feet and sent him running."

Emmett grinned. “Badass.”   
  
Eliza grinned right back, and Alice squeezed her arm on the other side. Her curious look was there again. Eliza wondered what Alice was thinking, what she saw. “What inclined you to do so?"

Heat rushed to Eliza's face immediately. A slight turn to Alice's lips was the only thing giving away that she noticed the change. Eliza's heartbeat in that moment would have been impossible for her to miss. “I was walking with Rosalie, and this gross senior came up, and, I don’t know, I didn’t like what he said to her, so I, uh. I hit him. Hard.”

Alice smirked and Emmett whooped from her other side. Eliza glared at them both. "Shut up, you guys." She should've known they would figure out her crush easily. It must be intensely humorous to them, a human jumping to protect a vampire's honor.

Both vampires chuckled. “Thank you for defending Rosalie, Bella. Rosalie can take care of herself, but I  _know_  she appreciates it."

“Oh, yes she does,” Emmett murmured.

Eliza blushed all over again. “It was nothing, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!"

Alice hummed thoughtfully, as she glanced over to Eliza again. “If only the world was as chivalrous as you, Bella.”

“Uh oh, I’d better tell Jasper he should be careful, or Bella’s gonna steal his girl!” Alice stuck her tongue out at Emmett and he laughed, running ahead. “See you tomorrow, Badass!”

Alice went her own way to change, but she was waiting for Bella outside the room three minutes later. Together, they headed for the exit.

Alice was quiet at first before speaking up, an unusually serious tone in her voice. “Bella? Thank you, again. For what you did for Rose. Too many people go unchecked in how they treat her."

The thought made Eliza’s blood boil all over again. “It makes me sick to think about.” Eliza trailed off, unsure if she should ask Alice the question that had been bugging her. If she was going to ask it, she’d need to do it a safe distance from the other Cullens.

“Go ahead and ask, Bella, I can see the question begging to released on the tip of your tongue! No question you have could make me uncomfortable.”

Well, alright then. “Today was the first time I’ve actually talked to Rosalie. Before that, either she stared like I was some rare animal, or glared at me like I’d gotten food on her shirt. Do you know what’s up with that?” That  _may_  have been an exaggeration, but Rosalie was sending incredibly mixed signals. Eliza wanted answers.

Alice didn’t respond immediately. When she did, the small vampire chose her words carefully. “Rosalie…is complicated. She doesn't trust easily, building walls to protect herself. But I promise, everything beneath that cold exterior is worth it. She's special. Trust me!"

Eliza smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Of course she believed her, but Alice knew more than she was letting on. Whatever, let the vampires have their secrets. “If you’re sure. I really would like to get to know her!”

They’d arrived at the front doors. “We’d all like to get to know you better, too, Bella. We’ll have to go on that shopping trip soon! If Rosalie comes along, we can all bond through fashion!” The short vampire was all energy, once again.

Eliza rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop from smiling. “How does this weekend sound?”

Alice grew still for the slightest moment, looking off into the distance. Was that a vision? As quickly as it began, Alice snapped out of it, her eyes bright.

“That will be perfect! We're going to have a great time, I promise. Bye, Bella!" Alice started to turn. "Oh, and get some sleep! I'm sure you'll be tired later!"

Eliza waved goodbye as Alice pranced over to Emmett's Jeep. Rosalie had already left, once again. Feeling a little sad seeing her empty spot, Eliza went to her own truck and started home. She had to face Charlie at some point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're both so, so gay. It's beautiful.


	6. Burnin' Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! It is me, apologizing once again! 
> 
> Time got away from me as I got caught up in schoolwork, and I've had less than I wanted for editing this chapter. Not only that, but I fought with the dialogue almost the whole way. 
> 
> At this point, I need to stop looking at it and move on! I hope you all enjoy this one. The next chapter is written, I'll start editing that soon! Hopefully, I'll post it much quicker. Things are going to start picking up, friends!
> 
> Comments and questions welcome!

“You, uh. Want something cold for that?” Charlie gestured at Eliza over his morning coffee.

Eliza was examining her punching hand, breakfast long forgotten. The knuckles were sore and bruised red. “I dunno, what do you have?”

Charlie got up and opened their freezer. “Uh. No ice packs. We got beef…frozen vegetables…we should go grocery shopping."

“Beef, Dad? I don’t think that’s sanitary.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who went and got in a fight over a girl!” Charlie said smugly.

"I didn't - I wasn't - you-" Eliza flushed and looked away. "I don't get into fights for just anybody," she muttered under her breath.

She really couldn’t complain about his teasing. They’d talked about her fight the night before, and Eliza was surprised to learn Charlie supported her wholeheartedly. He had listened as she rambled, trying to explain how she managed to get into a fight on her third day of school.

‘And so you punched him, huh?’ Eliza had nodded, ready to embrace her first-ever grounding. ‘Not bad, Bells!’

She gave herself whiplash when her head snapped up to look at him. 'What?’

'You thought I’d be mad at you for that? Bells, I’m proud of you!’ Charlie high-fived her, laughing to himself. ‘Imagine your mom’s face when I tell her!’ Eliza was starting to wonder if she wasn't related to Charlie after all.

Eliza continued tending to her hand. She was pretty sure it had looked worse only minutes ago...

Charlie's voice yelled from the doorway. “Alright Bells, no more fighting today!”

She grinned, letting out a long, mock sigh. "Whatever you say!" Several moments passed without the sound of the door closing, or the cruiser starting. She looked to the door, confused.

Charlie hovered, scrutinizing her. “I thought for sure we’d find fractured or shattered bones in that hand, Bells. It’s hard to land a punch to the face that doesn’t hurt the hand in some way if you're not trained, and all you came out with is bruised knuckles.” After another moment, Charlie shook his head. “It’s weird,” he said to himself, before stepping out the door.

Weird, indeed.

Not until parking at school did Eliza notice something else abnormal. Charlie wasn’t wrong. She should’ve come away with worse injuries. Lifting 180 pounds of dead-weight with one arm? Easy enough with two, but one? It should be _at least_ badly strained in multiple places, and yet, it felt fine. What the heck? Maybe science here was different. After all, vampires exist in this world. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibilities.

Satisfied with her conclusions, Eliza gingerly stepped out of her truck. No more fighting today, she could do that. In her periphery, she saw a small person launching themselves at her. On instinct, Eliza opened her arms and caught the vampire.

Laughing, Eliza put Alice down. “Hi, Alice!”

Alice giggled. “Bella! I missed you!

“Really? That’s right, you can't hardly make it a day without seeing me!”

Alice crossed her arms and tried to pout, but her smile broke through. Eliza ruffled Alice’s (already messy) hair, threw her arm around her shoulders, and began pulling her to the school. Alice happily obliged.

Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett were conversing by their cars. As Alice and Eliza neared, Emmett began to grin. Winking at Eliza, he left Rosalie’s side and walked into the school.

“Oh! Bella, I forgot! I need to give Jas my notes for our Chemistry class. I’ll see you later!”

Before Eliza could say anything, Alice was with Jasper, following Emmett inside. Now, all that separated Rosalie and Eliza was six feet of space, and heavy tension.

Rosalie, stunning Rosalie, didn’t move, but looked at the ground. Eliza, overwhelmed Eliza, stared at the vampire. After seconds (hours?) of silence, she managed to speak.

“Hey…Rosalie! Would you like to, uh, walk inside with me? I’ve gotta stop off at my locker before class, and…” Real smooth, dude. Rosalie looked up at Eliza, eyes wide, and…so…bright. Eliza felt like she was looking at the sun.

After painful seconds of holding Eliza's gaze and approaching slowly, Rosalie was at her side, no more than a foot of space left between them. She smiled coyly. “Lead the way, Ms. Swan.” And they began to walk.

“Are you always this formal, Ms. Hale?”

Rosalie looked through her lashes, alluring and playful. “I’ll call you whatever you’d like, Ms. Swan.”

“Heh…” Why did she have to say it  _that_ way?

They reached Eliza’s locker, and she found a welcome distraction in organizing her things. Not like she'd already done that every day so far. Nope.

Rosalie leaned against the next locker in much the same way Alice did, watching her. Eliza's self-control failed and she glanced at Rosalie. The vampire gave her a perplexed look. “The quote…from The Lord of the Rings. The one you gave your first day in class. It meant something to you, didn’t it?” Eliza nodded. “May I ask what it meant?”

Eliza tilted her head to the side, confused. What did it matter? She hesitated, trying to discern Rosalie's motives, but deep down, she wanted Rosalie to know. Needed her to know.

“The place I called home is behind me now.” Most definitely. “Ahead is an uncertain future with endless possibilities. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what’s going to happen next. My future is completely dark.”

Eliza looked away. A sadness she hadn't felt in days crept back within. She had barely spared a thought for her old life since the beginning of the week.

“What about the stars? What do they mean?” She turned back to Rosalie. The vampire was almost pleading with her. Eliza’s fog of guilt cleared in an instant, replaced by a smile. 

“They’re always there, no matter what. But when it’s darkest, we can see them.” Eliza paused, holding Rosalie’s eyes. _“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”_

Rosalie gazed at Eliza like she held the secrets of the universe.

The bell rang. Swallowing her disappointment, Eliza shut the locker and slid her backpack over her shoulder. Turning to Rosalie as she left, she asked, “are you coming?”

Rosalie blinked, face shifting back to neutral - Lord forbid she show emotion - and caught up in a few strides. Eliza watched Rosalie, who seemed distracted. A moment later, the vampire looked up at Eliza. “Sarah Williams.” A statement, not a question.

Eliza smiled again. She did that a lot around Rosalie. “Good memory!” Rosalie didn’t say anything in response, but looked pleased.

They came to stop in front of the business room, distinguishable by its daily posting of stock market news. “This is your class?”

Rosalie watched Eliza suspiciously. “It is…”

Eliza couldn’t hide her smile, pointing at the notebook Rosalie held. “Easy. Your book says Business.”

She blinked, looked down at her notebook, then back up at Eliza, head high. “Of course,” she quietly confirmed.

This time Eliza managed to control her smile. This might be the closest Rosalie ever came to embarrassment. No need to push her luck and point it out.

“Then this is where I leave.” Eliza took hold of Rosalie’s hand. It was angel-soft, yet granite hard like Alice’s, and warmed to Eliza’s touch. Bending a little, she whispered, “I’ll see you later, Ms. Hale,” and lightly kissed Rosalie’s hand. Letting go of Rosalie’s hand and rising, she gave Rosalie wink and a small smile. Eliza walked away, a frozen vampire in her wake.

 

Eliza was walking on air. Her morning with Rosalie was…wonderful. A dream come true. All of the above. And on top of it, she was making her sister Lily proud. She’d firmly believed literature could charm anyone, if used properly. It made her feel closer to Lily, and pushed some of that pain away again.

Eliza sat down in history a few hours later, and began re-examining her hand. The pain was barely an ache now, its redness reduced to a very light pink.

When history ended, Eliza tried to leave. Instead of doing so, she walked into a wall. Jasper was blocking her way to the door.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” Jasper, stepped back, apology written on his face.

Eliza blinked, recovering. “Oh! No! It’s no problem. We’re good, bro.”

The vampire smiled. “Jasper Hale. I regret not properly introducing myself earlier. I’m a bit shy." Jasper's face fell as he said that. Eliza sensed he didn’t have many (if any) friends.

Eliza empathized with Jasper immediately. “You know, I’m typically shy around people, too. But hey - you’re here and we're talking now!”

Jasper smiled at her words. They had an understanding there. Literally. “True! Let’s walk, shall we? There’s something I would like to speak with you about.” Eliza joined him, their path leading to the lunchroom. Next to him she felt entirely calm, his ability keeping her nerves at bay.

He slowed and they stepped off to the side of the hallway, out of earshot from anyone passing by. “I want to thank you for defending Rosalie yesterday. There are few people that respect women like they used to, it would seem.” He spoke with grim finality. Eliza wished it wasn’t true.

“Like I told Alice and Emmett, I’ll do it again in a heartbeat.”

Jasper turned and stared at Eliza. “I know that you would, Bella." His gaze was not unfriendly, but it was hard. "If you continue down the path you’re headed, treat her with respect. Rose deserves the best. Be that, Bella.”

Jasper nodded once, satisfied, before stepping away down the hall. Eliza was shocked. The Big Brother Speech? He must have been playing her. Maybe Emmett knew about her crush on Rosalie, and he enlisted Jasper for a prank. No, he couldn't know. Even if he did, that didn't seem like something he'd do, either. Right? What did it matter. Rosalie was not available. But no matter how hard she tried, Eliza couldn't stop a spark of hope from flaring within from Jasper's words.

When she made it to the lunchroom, she found all of the Cullens - sans Edward, who was still not at school - sitting at her table. Today, she couldn’t catch a break. The only open chair at the table was next to Rosalie; as she sat down, Eliza wondered if the others did that on purpose.

Jasper smiled pleasantly, acting like he totally hadn’t given her the shovel talk only minutes before. “Hello again, Bella.”

Emmett was his usual loud self. “How goes it, dude?”

Rosalie didn’t say anything. Not. One. Thing. She nodded once, face passive. Her eyes were all that gave any response Eliza’s arrival, brightening when their eyes met.

Eliza tore away from the all-consuming gaze of Rosalie, turning to her best friend. Alice bounced in her seat. “Bella! We were just talking about the shopping trip! Are you excited?”

“I am beside myself with joy, Alice.”

“Oh Bella, when I’m done with you, you’ll love it. Speaking of…” Alice stood up and ran over to Eliza’s side. Rosalie shifted her chair closer to Eliza. Neither said anything.

Alice stood close with an excited look on her face. “I saw your outfit this morning and I thought it could use a bit of spicing up, so I grabbed some things from my locker for you!” Alice produced four scarves in different colors and patterns out of thin air. Yay.

“This is only school, Alice. Is that really necessary?”

“Dress for success, Bella! Come on, try them. For me?” Alice pouted, and Eliza immediately relented.

Alice began to hold up all four scarves against Eliza’s shirt and neck, examining every combination as though it was a work of art.

Eliza trusted Alice. She did. But she thought Alice could use her opinion.

“No.”

“Bella.”

“Not that one either.”

“The pattern works nicely with your shirt.

“Nope.”

“I didn’t even hold it up yet.”

“Double no.”

“Fine. This one?”

“…No.”

“Bella Swan!”

Eliza gave her own pout. “Can’t I go without it? Scarves aren’t my thing, Alice. They’re your thing! We each have our own things, and they are not one of my things.”

Alice put her hands on her hips. Scarves, it would seem, are serious business. “Absolutely not! This is your first step into a larger world! Accessorizing is essential to any wardrobe. Please, Bella? I won’t ask you for anything ever again!”

“Yes you will.”

“At least not for another hour.”

“…The last one.”

Alice’s eyes lit up in happiness. She wrapped the scarf around Eliza’s neck. “Perfect! It brings out that dreamy blue in your eyes.”

Alice continued on, straightening and ruffling expertly. Rosalie was now right next to Eliza, glaring unblinkingly at Alice. Eliza forgot how to breathe.

“Alice, hon, your food is getting cold,” a Southern drawl warned.

At Jasper’s words, Alice snapped out of her concentration. For the first time, she looked at Rosalie. Smirking, Alice bent down and kissed Eliza on the cheek. “Thank you, Bella dear. At gym I expect your look to be fully intact!”

Eliza rolled her eyes as Alice retreated, blushing, and not really mad at all. Rosalie, however, was staring at the spot where Alice’s lips had been, marked by a near-imperceptible chill to Eliza’s warmth.

Abruptly, Rosalie stood and exited the room through the side door. At once, Eliza’s mind commanded her body to follow the vampire. Or was it her heart? She missed the knowing looks passed around their table as she followed.

Rosalie was found sitting primly on the seat of a picnic table, a little way out onto the school lawn. Eliza took a seat on the opposite side of the vampire who had yet to acknowledge her presence. From where they sat, they could see the main road into Forks, on which Rosalie was fixed.

After a minute, Rosalie turned so her body faced Eliza. She didn’t say anything, only watched.

Eliza opted to guide their conversation this time. “Do you like it here, Rosalie? Are you happy in Forks?”

Rosalie blinked.

“If you don’t mind me asking, that is,” Eliza added.

Rosalie looked away again, eyes narrowed somewhat. “People don’t usually ask me what I think. They stare, they talk, and once in a while someone will be brave enough to ask if it hurt when I fell from Heaven…”

Eliza made a face. Rosalie smiled ruefully. “I’m not used to people caring about what I think. For an answer, I would say that I am beginning to feel so. Not at first - the decision to come here wasn’t mine. Those are left to Edward and Carlisle.”

Rosalie paused. Eliza wasn’t surprised that Edward was controlling here, too.

“This town is small, uncomfortably close, the people focused on their own little world. But it’s beautiful, and familiar. As of late, I would say it has begun to feel like home.”

Her voice did things to Eliza’s heart. Eliza craved it, needed Rosalie to say more. “And why is that?”

Rosalie hesitated, avoiding Eliza’s eyes. “It…doesn’t matter. Not right now, at least.”

In avoiding Eliza’s eyes, Rosalie’s found another point of interest. Eliza watched as the vampire stared at right hand. She stiffened more, if possible, eyes narrowing. Rosalie picked it up and held it tenderly. The thumb of her right hand rubbed Eliza’s knuckles in gentle patterns. Eliza couldn’t see or feel any signs of injury there anymore, but Rosalie saw  _something._

Rosalie continued for what could have been hours, or days, because Eliza thought she was in heaven. Rosalie’s touch was smooth, comforting, addicting. There was no uncomfortable hardness, or cold surface, or fear. There was only warmth spreading through Eliza with every second they were in contact. There was only the glowing gold of Rosalie’s eyes.

Rosalie’s thumb paused. Their eyes locked, and everything else fell away. Fell away as Eliza fell in. Further, deeper. Rosalie’s eyes darkened steadily, Eliza’s breathing picked up, and - a loud ring tore them apart, both jumping away. Rosalie’s face was hard again, Eliza’s reflecting her frustration. Really? The bell had to ring right _then_?

With a glance toward the school, Rosalie stood up, walked around the table, and pressed her lips to Eliza’s cheek. The exact spot where Alice’s had been. “I look forward to spending more quality time together,” Rosalie whispered into her ear. “A lot more.”

This time, Rosalie walked away from a frozen Eliza. The spot on her cheek was no longer cool, but steadily growing warmer.

Nobody outdid a Hale.

Eliza was _definitely_  going to be late to next period.

 

In English, Rosalie focused on her notes and the teacher. Eliza, for her part, was too shy to look her way, and spent the better part of class blushing.

When Rosalie left, dark eyes flashed above a smug smile.

 

Eliza couldn’t focus on soccer. Not today. “Bella, get your head in the game! It’s no fun to beat you if you’re not trying!” Emmett whined as he juggled the ball away with his feet.

“Bella, are you okay? Your face has been red all hour. I’m kind of worried about you.” Alice came from the sidelines, watching Eliza closely. Like she always did when she thought she knew something. And maybe she did.

Eliza responded without hesitation. “Alice, I swear your sister is going to be the death of me.”

Alice only smirked in the same manner as Rosalie. “That’s because you’re awfully cute, and so terribly fun to tease.”

Emmett’s mocking laughter rang from the far end of the field. He shouldn’t have heard if he was even remotely trying to be human.

 

Rosalie escaped the parking lot before Eliza got there, once more.

 

Rosalie. Rosalie. Rosalie, Rosalie, Rosalie. Damnit, Rosalie. Eliza paced through her kitchen. She couldn't sit still. She couldn't think of anything else. Her mind now centered around a bright, glorious sun. Every damn time she thought of Rosalie, her face split into this huge grin, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. Which meant she was smiling almost constantly. Butterflies made their home in her stomach, her body sparked with energy, and. Rosalie. Damn that straight, beautiful, wonderful Rosalie.

Charlie watched her, his worry silent but no less obvious. Eliza didn't know what she wanted him to do. She didn't know what he _could_ do.

"Bells...what's wrong? What's got your socks in a knot?"

Eliza stopped. That was a start, at least. "What?"

Charlie approached her slowly, like he would a wild animal. "What's wrong?"

Eliza looked at him, but then her thoughts went back to Rosalie, and she smiled. Again. And all of a sudden, she had the peculiar impulse to announce her feelings to the whole world. "I'm falling for Rosalie Hale!"

Charlie's eyes were wide, his expression surprised. "And I don't know what to do about it," Eliza laughed. "I've never felt like this, I've never - felt so many things! Mostly good things, I guess." Charlie continued to stare. "My life is a fricking Shakespeare story now," she scoffed. 

She braced for the laughing, the incredulous remark, the lecture. Too young, too fast, too-anything. But it didn't come.

Charlie's face relaxed into his normal calm. "You, uh. You wanna hit something?"

Eliza's turn to stare with a surprised expression. That was not the response she was expecting. But Rosalie-fueled energy crackled underneath her skin, her body restless. She needed an outlet before she burst and did something she would regret.

"Yeah, actually."

 

Right cross. Left cross. Uppercut. Jab. Repeat. Eliza danced around the heavy bag set up in their living room. Its location gave Eliza room to move, but left Charlie’s view of the TV unobstructed. There he sat as Eliza let her emotion out.

The reserve of energy within Eliza was never-ending. Probably Rosalie's fault. Whatever the vampire had done to her made her workouts more effective, at least. She'd been going for almost an hour, and while she'd worked up a sweat, she wasn't tired at all. Despite that, her restlessness was gone, and her mind was partially cleared. The mental calm was a welcome break, even though it wouldn't last.

Finally stopping, wary of aching muscles sure to be in her future, Eliza plopped down on the couch.

“Feel better, Scrapper?” Charlie smirked. Eliza rolled her eyes at his nickname. She'd earned it, in his eyes.

“I do. I didn’t know you had this!” She said, pointing to the bag.

Charlie watched the TV as he answered. “Don’t use it often, but it’s always good to keep your punch in practice."

"How did you know this would help me?" As far as Eliza knew, he was not the best resource for relationship advice.

Charlie turned his attention to her, a sportive look in his eyes. "I'm a cop. I know things."

Eliza glared, throwing her pillow at him. He knocked it out of the way, snickering, before throwing it back. Reaching for his drink, he held up his hand to pause her attack.

She sat back and hugged the pillow. Come to think of it, she hadn't been this relaxed all day. Going forward, she had a release to fall back on for...all of it.

"You know, I'll need to replace that old bag soon if this crush of yours keeps up." Charlie had barely set his drink down before the pillow smacked him in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Eliza, doesn't know what's happening.
> 
> As you can see, I couldn't help myself with the title for this one ;)
> 
> "Baby you turn the temperature hotter/ cause I'm burnin' up, burnin' up/ for you baby"


	7. False Pretenses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Slyly posts a chapter* I'm back! And I totally don't have an exam in seven hours. Nope. This is fine.
> 
> I feel terrible I haven't posted earlier! This is a week late. But I took the time to develop the plot more fully. Plus, this chapter was hard to get right. 
> 
> This isn't as "fun" of a chapter as some of the others, but I assure you it's necessary for the story! I'll make up for it with the next chapter, which I'm super excited to write.
> 
> For now, I give you: Chapter 7!

“Argfh-" Eliza grunted as she struggled with her shirt. It was putting up one hell of a fight. With another strangled yell, she lost her balance and toppled over onto her bed. 

Eliza paused in her struggle when space near the side of her head vibrated. She looked over to find her tiny, old phone lighting up. Man, she missed her 4.7-inch touchscreen. 

She reached over with the one arm that was free of shirt to pick up her phone. Alice’s name and (3) lit the display. Funny...she didn't remember giving Alice her number, _or_ receiving it. Alice must have stolen her phone when she wasn't looking. Stupid vampire speed.

_‘Our parents are taking us on an impromptu trip to Seattle for the day!’_

_‘Gotta love spontaneous family bonding. It’s for a medical convention or something. Have a good day at school, Bella!’_

_‘P.S. Don’t forget the spice!’_

Eliza’s spirits dropped like a rock. Tossing her phone, she sprang up and pulled open the curtains. Sure enough, it was a dazzling, sunny day. Bad conditions for sparkly vampires.

All the way to the kitchen, she mumbled darkly. “Spontaneous family bonding at a medical convention, please, that’s not even a good lie…”

“What’s your problem today, Bells? The whole house shook when you came down the stairs.” Charlie stood by the door, evidently wary.

Eliza stopped. He was right. This mood swing came out of nowhere, even with a certain vampire messing with her heart. “Sorry, Dad. Woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Charlie gave her a skeptical look, shrugging his jacket on. “Clearly. Try and have a good day, Bells, and I’ll see you later.” Charlie fled the house. She didn’t blame him.

During the drive to school, Eliza scowled at every patch of sunlight she saw. Scowling the entire way, basically. Pulling into the lot, her eyes flew to a familiar space. There was not a single fancy car parked in their Spot™. No bright red. No Rosalie.

She spent the day dodging the likes of Eric, Mike, and Jessica, all emboldened by the absence of a Cullen at Eliza’s side. When she wasn't on the lookout for them, Eliza sat and thought about Rosalie. No, she was not ashamed to admit it. An uncomfortable feeling clenched around her chest every time she thought of her. For once, she _wanted_  Jasper to come around and relax her.

Eliza ate lunch in the library, appreciative of the solitude. No high schooler dare follow her there. Of course, a certain vampire didn't leave her thoughts alone. She wished Alice was there to distract her, to talk to her about something. Anything.

Gym was easy without Emmett on the field. Too easy. It was going through the motions. Nothing in the game forced her to be reactive, adapt on the fly, or get her blood pumping and muscles working.

She got in her truck at the end of the day feeling worse. Eliza slouched against the seat in frustration. "Damnit!" One week was all it took, and she was too attached to a roving family of vampires. 

At home Eliza lounged on the couch, torn between being lazy, or being productive. More than anything, she needed a distraction.

Eliza had her homework for the upcoming week finished when dinnertime rolled around. Except there was no Charlie walking in the door. It didn't seem like him to miss a meal.

She wandered out to Charlie’s backyard, coat forgotten. It was a mild day by Minnesota standards, but cold for Washington this time of year.

On Charlie’s patio sat an outdoor table with chairs around it, the canvas umbrella tied up. Over to the side was a grill, looking worn and weathered from years of use. His backyard was spacious, a few large trees dotting its expanse.

It was an inviting, comfortable place to be in warmer months. As Eliza surveyed the backyard, it occurred to her that Charlie had no patio in Meyer's version of this world.

Eliza took deep breaths, relishing in the fresh, wild air. A spot of color on the table caught her eye: a folded map of Forks and the surrounding area.

Intrigued, Eliza took a seat and opened the map. It's detail was exceptional, pointing out roads, buildings, and geographic landmarks. Anything of even slight significance had a place on the map. Hiking trails, campsites, and lookouts were marked as well.

She saw the Calawah River, LaPush road, the Quileute reservation. She wondered if she'd meet the Quileute shifters soon.

Eliza sat back in her chair. Without reading New Moon, she didn't know many details about the wolves. High body temperature, excellent physical condition, angry, prejudiced against vampires. What more was there to know?

From her back pocket, her phone buzzed. She lifted her phone to see a new text from Charlie.

_'Be home in 10! Bringing old friends. Grilling for dinner, light it up!'_

Eliza looked back at the map, the reservation catching her eye. Time for things to get a tad more complicated.

Ten minutes later, Charlie walked in the door. Right then, Eliza managed to light the grill. Lighting grills was not one of her things, unfortunately.

She re-entered the house to find Billy Black, and a tall Jacob Black trailing behind him. They looked exactly as she expected them to.

“Sorry I’m late, Bells. Stopped to pick up these two hitch-hikers,” Charlie joked.

Billy smiled a friendly smile, holding out his hand for her to shake. “It’s nice to finally see you, Bella! Been a long time!”

Eliza grasped his hand firmly and smiled in return. “Yeah, it has!” His gentle features made it hard to believe he harbored so much distaste for anyone, human or not. Perhaps this Billy would be alright.

“Hey Bella,” Jacob said from behind Billy. Youthful features paired with his air of nonchalance did little to mature him, if that was his goal.

“Hey Jacob." Eliza's smile hid her nerves. If this Jacob harbored feelings for Bella, there would need to be an intervention. It would need to be done carefully, skillfully. But she could avoid a whole bunch of problems, the least of them being him thinking her to be straight.

Charlie rubbed his hands together, looking over the contents of their freezer. “I thought we could grill something and catch a game or two on TV? We haven’t done that in a long time!”

“If by ‘long-time’ you mean a week, then I agree,” Billy chimed in, his sarcasm not unfriendly.

“Shut it,” Charlie grinned at Billy. “Let’s take some of this beef and make hamburgers. Did you get the grill lit, Bells?”

"I did," Eliza confirmed proudly.

“Perfect. Billy and I, uh,” Charlie paused, looking between Eliza and Jacob. “We’ll be in the back so you two can catch up. Call you when the burgers are ready!”

Charlie and Billy escaped to the backyard. On his way out, Billy yelled, "have fun hanging," and laughed when Jacob groaned. "What? I'm down with the kids!" He laughed some more, before leaving them alone in the house. 

Jacob kept his distance from Eliza, choosing instead to stand in his place and look around uncomfortably. Eliza refused to let the awkward silence linger.

Operation: Heartbreaker Bro, initiated.

“Let’s sit down, Jake!” Eliza moved to the couch, Jacob taking the other end. There was a good chance this conversation was going to go badly, since she knew little about him. But if this new world had taught her anything so far, it was how to improvise. Talk about skipping the figurative frying pan, and being thrown right into the fire.

Watching him, she saw Jacob was a perfect example of teenage self-consciousness. There was nothing to fear. Finally, he took a deep breath, and tried for conversation. “So, how goes it, Bella?”

She could do this. Step One: get Jacob talking about himself. “I’m doing alright! I’ve been better, but. I'm fine. What about you?” 

Jacob shrugged. “The same as always. Nothing really changes in my life. But I’m glad to see you again!” His eyes swept the living room. “Remember when we were younger and we’d sit here and play, or make mud-pies outside while they watched sports?"

No. No she did not. Too bad, it sounded like fun.

Onto Step Two: introduce New Bella. “Yeah! Good times…” Think Eliza, think! “But now that I understand sports, I’d be much more interested in watching!"

Jacob gaped. “You like sports?”

She smirked. “Why the tone of surprise?” Jacob smiled in embarrassment, looking away and shaking his head. “You make it sound as though meeting a girl who likes sports is as rare as finding a food my dad won’t eat!” They laughed together.

“No, it’s just, I didn’t expect you would ever be one to like sports. My bad for the assumption."

Eliza waved it off. Time for Step Three: bring in the big guns. “That’s fair. Although my ex-girlfriend always told me I liked sports a little _too_ much, but I don’t think that’s possible."

That may have been a little exaggeration. She’d never had a real girlfriend, but the right one would come along someday. The right one may have come along already…

Jacob hadn’t said anything yet. She watched his wide open eyes as he absorbed her words. Surprise, followed by a smile.

“That’s funny! Sorry, I, uh, I didn’t know you, ah…” He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, I have no problem with that! As no one should,” he added hastily. “Doesn’t change how I think about you, not at all!” Jacob babbled.

Eliza smiled ruefully. That was about what she expected. If only it wasn’t a Big Deal™ to like girls here, too. Still, crisis averted.

Mission: Success.

“Thanks, Jake. You know, I didn’t really acknowledge it until high school. One day I saw a girl there and it was just like…wow…” Eliza looked off into the distance. She smiled, knowing that if she told him who she was thinking about, he’d probably fall over. 

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, I get what you mean." He paused. "We're going to get along great, Bella." 

Eliza looked back over at Jacob, smile growing. "I think so, too, Jacob." 

This was good. Bro-bonding. Bronding.

Their bronding was interrupted by Charlie’s yell from the backyard. “Food is ready! Double for everyone!”

Eliza whipped around to Jacob. “First one to the grill gets the other’s second!” Jacob’s eyebrows rose. "Oh yea-" Before he could finish, Eliza was up and running out of the room.

She would’ve beaten him if she hadn't had to jump to avoid tripping over a chair immediately outside the door. They arrived in front of the grill to collect their hamburgers at the same time, laughing.

“Alright, alright, it’s a tie, we both get two.”

“Please, I let you win. I totally could’ve won when you tripped.”

“Jacob, put my hamburger down or so help me, I will fight you.”

They both laughed again, taking seats next to Charlie and Billy. Both fathers looked happy at Eliza and Jacob’s easy friendship.

Eliza and Jacob began a silent eating contest while Billy and Charlie talked about fishing. The strongest eater was never decided, because the conversation took an unanticipated turn.

“Bella already made some friends at school. The Cullens, was it?” Ah. The conversation was now onto her. Charlie’s stare was teasing, him privy to her crush on Rosalie. Billy’s face was hard, alarmed. Jacob shrunk back in his seat, focusing on his food. Eliza put her own down, and straightened to meet Billy’s displeasure.

“Is this true, Bella?” An accusation. 

“Yes,” Eliza replied indignantly. “Does it matter?”

“I don't trust them, Bella.”

“Since when do you have a say in my friendships?”

Charlie looked between them. "Now Billy, we’ve been over this. They’re upstanding citizens of Forks. You can't go around talking bad about them.”

Billy leveled Charlie with a serious look. “I don’t. But you know what our past means to my people.”

Charlie leaned back. “The legend of the Cold Ones? You’ve told me. Several times. Those are stories, Billy. There are no vampires here." He went back to eating. "Never were, never will be.”

“Charlie-"

Something snapped. Eliza turned and saw Jacob firmly grasping the arm of his chair. She could see a fracture in the material beneath his hand. Jacob looked up at Billy, face strained. Angry.

His father looked at him warily. Billy watched Jacob a few seconds longer, and said nothing more. He glanced back at Eliza, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

She took a deep breath as tension left their table. Jacob, for his part, seemed normal once more. His face was relaxed, and he was eating again. Eliza returned to her own meal.

So Charlie knew of the Quileutes legends. That was new. As far as she knew, he'd been in the dark until the very end of Twilight. As she ate, she wondered what that meant. What else did he know?

By this time, Jacob had finished his food. “Beat you!”

Eliza glared at him. “Wipe that grin off your face! Only because I was distracted, you punk.” Jacob laughed as Eliza punched him on the arm. She hissed and pulled her hand back. “Jake, you’re burning!”

Jacob stopped laughing, confused. “What do you mean?”

She pointed at him. “Your skin…it’s scorching hot! Do you feel alright?”

He frowned. “Of course I do…” Jacob’s words weren’t backed with surety as he placed a palm on his forehead.

Charlie cleared his throat. “Looks fine to me. We’re all finished? Let’s go and watch the game!”

Billy checked with Jacob on the way in, whispering to him. They were arguing. Jacob eventually shook his head and followed Charlie. Billy looked worried, but filed in after him anyway.

Eliza wasn’t sure what to think. Feeling that warm _couldn't_ be normal. Even she didn't feel that warm when looking at Rosalie, and that was saying something. But Jacob’s temperature…it left her uneasy.

She watched Jacob closely as they sat through a hockey game. Billy bantered with Charlie, but Eliza saw through him. The older Black sat stiffly, his comments and jokes forced.

Jacob looked increasingly more uncomfortable. Eliza tried to talk with him several times. He kept quiet, fidgeting in his seat, rubbing his forehead or the back of his neck.

Seven or eight glasses of water were down the boy, when Eliza realized he was looking _really_ sick. It happened quickly, like a switch flipped. Jacob was sweating, skin red and blotchy, his breathing labored.

As though Jacob didn't realize it until she had, he stood, swaying. “I think we need to leave,” he spoke at Billy, ignoring Eliza and Charlie.

Without question, Billy moved for the door with Jacob staggering behind. Charlie and Eliza followed after them. Eliza was ready to catch Jacob if he fell. Now she was exceedingly worried.

“Are you two going to be alright? What’s wrong? Should I take you to the hospital?” If only Charlie knew suggesting to see Carlisle was the wrong offer.

Billy stopped in the door, turning back to them. “We’ll be fine, Charlie," he said tersely. "Don't worry about us. I’ll talk to you soon. Thank you for dinner.” With that, the night absorbed the Blacks.

Charlie stared after them, before closing the door and walking toward Eliza and the kitchen. “They’re not usually that…odd.” He rubbed his chin, thinking. He wouldn't figure out what was wrong. She had. The strength, the anger, the heat. 

Jacob becoming a shifter so soon was…unexpected. But it may not turn out _all_ bad. There would be no angry love triangles, for starters. Either way, she wouldn’t see much of him in the coming days, so that issue could wait for another time.

Together they cleaned the dishes, still talking about the game. When that topic was exhausted, Charlie returned to Jacob. “I just don’t understand. Jake was perfectly fine when they got here. And then that happens, and they didn’t even want our help!” Eliza stayed silent. He turned to her. “Don’t you think that was weird?”

Eliza nodded. “It was…I’ve never seen someone get sick like that. I’m sure they’ll be fine, though.” Sort of. Probably.

Charlie huffed, and leaned back against the counter. “You remembered him, though? Jake? You two were friends back in the day.”

“You make it sound like I’m old. I haven’t even hit my prime!”

“Oh no, you went to bed at 9pm last night!”

"I got a good night's sleep, because I'm a healthy person. At least I don't laze about in front of the TV all night!"

“I’ll have you know that your father is as young and spry as ever!”

Eliza barked out a laugh. Charlie smiled at her. “But really, I’m glad you and Jake had a nice time.

They had. “I am, too. He’s cool. Sort of like the brother I never wanted.”

Charlie chuckled, patting her on the shoulder. “That’s good.”

He moved away, filling a glass of water. "I'm going fishing tomorrow, so I'll be gone when you wake up."

That meant Eliza had the whole day with the Cullens. Eliza resisted the urge to pump her fist. “Alice Cullen invited me to go shopping with her tomorrow. You don't mind if I go, then?"

The request felt out of place on her tongue. She wasn't used to asking permission for much of anything anymore. She sorely missed the freedom of 19. But she would ask if it meant seeing the Cullens (one in particular) again.

For his part, Charlie was thrilled. “Of course! Port Angeles?” Eliza nodded. She didn't actually know their destination, but whatever made him feel better worked for her. “That’s fine, just be safe!"

Eliza scoffed. "As if I wouldn't be?" Charlie was not amused. "Fine. Thank you! And have fun fishing tomorrow!" She backed toward the stairway. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Don't do anything I  _would_ do, either."

"Alright, alright, go to bed," Charlie laughed.

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Night, Bells."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And let the theories begin...


	8. Our Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, it's good to be back.
> 
> It's been a rough month. My girlfriend and I broke up, so that was a thing. Sort of drained my desire to write, along with a lot of my emotional energy. Plus, I've got round two of midterms coming next week, as well as several papers for school due in the next month or so. And on top it all, I had a 1.5 hour Fantasy Baseball draft tonight, and it was incredibly stressful.
> 
> But I'm here with an update! Thank you everyone for your patience with me. I sincerely believe the next chapter will come much quicker than this one did. I hope this makes up for the wait!

Something light and warm nudged her. It teased her from the other side of sleep, not quite letting her drift back to unconsciousness. Slowly, gently, it lifted her out of slumber.

Eliza opened her eyes to a bright, golden light peeking through her window. The first rays of morning sunshine had breached the horizon. They streaked through the trees and into her bedroom.

Already she could see clouds creeping up. Soon they'd cover the whole sky, as they were bound to do in Forks. The sun's short performance was welcome nonetheless.

A glance at her clock. 7:45am.

Eliza scrunched her eyes in thought. That meant something...time?

Oh yes. The Cullens. They weren't expecting her for another hour and forty-five minutes.

A pause.

The Cullens.

ROSALIE.

She shot out of bed, panicking. How could she forget, even for a moment, that today was the day? The shopping day? A Rosalie day? A day to see Rosalie? After a day of not seeing Rosalie?

Stumbling into her bathroom, Eliza turned on the shower. Oh boy. Oh boy. Stay calm. Rosalie. She needed to be put together when she got there, or she had no chance of doing so once she saw her. She spent extra time washing up, for whatever it was worth.

One long, warm shower later, Eliza stood staring at herself in the mirror. She didn't wear much makeup...should she wear more this time? 

Her reflection was young, a little scared. But happy. Excited, even. It looked good on her. No, she didn't need to be anyone but herself for Rosalie. A voice in the back of her mind whispered Rosalie wouldn't want anything else.

Eliza spent forty-five minutes considering each article of clothing she owned. Narrowing it down to a few outfits was the hardest. In the end, Eliza decided picking clothes shouldn't be rocket science, threw her hands up, and grabbed the closest one. Alice would make her change eventually anyway. 

Breakfast didn't go down easily, so she gave up eating after a few bites. She didn't want to be sick from nerves. Instead, Eliza sat staring at the door and thought about what on earth she would do when she saw Rosalie. Hopefully not freeze, or blather, or do any number of embarrassing things. How should she stand? How should she smile? Was she overthinking this? No, probably not.

Before it got worse, Charlie came to the rescue.

 _'Are you gonna leave or keep staring at the door like a lost puppy?'_

Eliza rolled her eyes. Maybe he knew her better than she thought.

_'I know I'm right. Get over there!'_

She smiled what was more of a grimace. Good thing he wasn't afraid to call her out. Typing back, Eliza hoped her sarcasm would find its way to him along with her response.

_'Ha ha, aren't you funny. Just catch your fish, wise guy.'_

_'Good luck, Bells.'_

Eliza drove with her phone in one hand, the other on the wheel. She wasn't a model for vehicle safety, but with Alice texting her directions, she was (mostly) confident it would be alright. Plus, her truck was a tank.

Of course the Cullens picked one of the hardest to find, easiest to miss roads to build their house on. Stupid, sneaky vampires. She would’ve missed it had it not been for Alice’s directions. Their impeccable timing meant Alice was watching her approach.

_‘And when you pass that sign, you know the one, immediately turn left.’_

_‘I know it’s going to look like you’re driving off the road but trust me.’_

_‘Turn, Bella.’_

_‘Turn!’_

_‘I’m serious!’_

_‘I can tell you don’t trust me!’_

_‘And don’t even think about turning around. You cannot hide from my sight!’_

Eliza almost drove off the road. Did she…make an Overwatch joke about her power? Was that on purpose? Alice couldn’t possibly know what that was, right?

Another full two minutes passed before she made it down their driveway. She was grateful for how time slowed enough for her to collect herself. Maybe it was her treacherous foot, easing off the gas pedal to make time stretch out. Either way, Eliza took the miracle.

Without warning, the truck emerged from the forest-lined drive into a small clearing. In front of her sat a multi-level, luxurious modern house. Wood and glass; Meyer’s idea, but the movie’s modern twist.

The house sported several garage doors, all closed. The front path wound through a garden of greenery, well-loved and tended. The entire scene was welcoming enough, but there were no vampires in sight.

Putting the truck in park and stepping out, Eliza took a deep breath and began her slow walk to the door. Her heart wanted her to sprint up to the house, while her mind wanted her to drive away as fast as possible. The result was a mess of thoughts, decipherable as ‘oh no, pretty vampire ahead, regroup, slow down, retreat.’ But she kept going.

(Another) deep breath to give her heart one last shot at staying calm before she knocked. Instantly, Alice Cullen appeared on the other side of the opening glass door. She'd been nowhere in sight only a moment before.

“Bella!” And Eliza had an armful of vampire.

She returned Alice’s enthusiastic hug, nerves dissipating. “Are you ready for today, Alice?”

Alice pulled back, marble face serious. “I’ve been ready to go shopping with my best friend for a _long_ time, Bella.”

Eliza considered what Alice’s definition of _long_ truly meant.

“Are you going to invite Bella in so I can meet her, or do you plan to keep her all for yourself, Alice?”

Alice gave a little pout and reluctantly pulled Eliza into the house, where she came face to face with Esme Cullen. There was no mistaking that hair; Eliza _had_ seen her in the supermarket the Sunday before.

Meyer had been spot-on with Esme, too. As in the movie, she looked slightly older than her 'children.' But that did nothing to diminish her vampiric beauty, heart-shaped face radiating warmth. She was smiling the friendliest smile, and Eliza felt compelled to run and hug her.

Esme beat her to it. She glided forward and gathered Eliza into her arms in that way only a mother can. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Bella. I’ve heard all about you this week!”

Eliza smiled, nervous. “Good things, I hope!”

“Great things,” Esme promised with a grin.

 And Eliza knew, without a doubt, that this woman held all the motherly love in the world.

“Bella! You’re here!” Loud footsteps thundred as Emmett came bounding down the hall and lifted her up in a bearish hug.

Laughing, Eliza patted his back. “Good to see you, too, bro!”

He set her down and they completed a series of fist-bumps and high fives. They looked up at the same time, matching grins on their faces. In unison, “Secret handshake…?”

Emmett whooped. “We gotta make one!”

She LOVED those. “Bro, yes! Come up with ideas, and we'll make it next week!” One more fist bump and Emmett moved to make room for the others, satisfied.

“Mornin,’ Bella,” Jasper greeted calmly, as he approached from another room on the main level.

Eliza waved his way. His big brother talk had been intimidating, but she felt like she understood him better for it. That was a side of him not many people saw outside his family. “Same to you, Jasper!” 

She turned back to Esme, who was happily watching her adoptive children interact with their (human!) friend. “Thank you for letting me come and spend today with them, Mrs. Cullen! By the way, your house is stunning!”

Esme put her hand over her heart. “Thank you, Bella. I designed it myself!”

“No way!”

Esme smiled happily. “I can show you the plans I drew up for it, if you’d like! And my process, I kept journals the whole time.”

She sounded excited. It was so cute. “Definitely, I look forward to it!”

Esme beamed at Eliza again before glancing to the kitchen and back. “I’m sorry, where are my manners - would you like anything to drink? Anything to eat?”

Eliza looked down at her stomach. Nah. “No, no, I’m good. But thank you for the offer!”

Alice jumped to her side. “You’re going to need all the energy you can get today! You can’t skimp on your caloric intake TODAY of all days!”

She eyed Alice skeptically. Did she understand how the human diet worked?

The Cullen matriarch jumped at the chance Alice supplied her. “I’ll go fix you a sandwich for the road, to be safe!” And so Esme went off to the kitchen with Alice close behind, muttering something about calories and energy. Jasper left as well, back to whatever he’d been doing.

Emmett yelled from another room. “Bella! Come look at my setup!”

She followed the echoes of his yells through the halls, taking in their house along the way. Lots of glass, lots of wood. Open and airy, a modern design taste with a touch of minimalism. Here and there she eyed curious decoration, like nothing produced today. Items that would be at home in a museum, or a dusty old estate sale.

She kept walking, unsure she could find her way through the luxurious maze without a vocal guide. “Where?” Eliza rounded the corner and found a glorious sight.

A massive TV was mounted on the opposite wall that looked like the best you could buy. Beneath it, every gaming console from the previous ten years rested on a multi-leveled entertainment base, complete with a shelf lined with video games. Next to it were shelves lined with a similarly countless collection of movies. A comfortable-looking couch sat directly in front of the setup, other couches and recliners filling space on either side.

It was paradise.

Back home, Eliza was the proud owner of a both a PlayStation4 and an Xbox One, and before that, an Xbox 360, a Wii, and a PlayStation2. She could appreciate the gamer’s heaven that lay before her.

Emmett watched proudly from next to the TV, nodding his head as Eliza took everything in. “Bro…this is…I don’t even-”

“I think you broke her, Emmett.”  

Eliza whirled and found herself face-to-face with a goddess on Earth.

Rosalie Hale stood there, immaculate as ever. She wore a t-shirt and jeans that fit her too well and smirked at Eliza with a playful look in her eye.

Eliza had no words.

Glancing around for help, she discovered that Emmett had deserted her. She heard Alice and Esme having an loud conversation in the kitchen. There was no one around to save her.

Rosalie’s smirk grew as she backed up.

“Alice, I’m showing Bella the cars before you leave!”

Rosalie had Eliza completely distracted, because Alice’s response didn’t register whatsoever. She grabbed Eliza’s hand, cool fingers wrapping around burning ones.

Her charm was effortless. A simple tug was all it took, and Eliza let Rosalie lead her away. When they passed the room Jasper had entered from earlier, she swore she heard Emmett’s snicker. Traitor.

She let herself be led through a door (she didn’t know which door, or where it was in the house, because the whole time she’d been looking at their joined hands) into the dark garage. Feeling Rosalie begin to let go, Eliza did the same, taking a step to the side. It was a miracle she didn’t walk into anything. She looked down at her hand, which she couldn’t see. But she noted that despite Rosalie’s perpetually cold skin, her hand was still warm.

The lights switched on. It was a spacious garage with tool benches and other equipment organized along the edges of the room. Several cars were parked perfectly in line, as well as a couple of motorcycles. Every vehicle was spotless. Emmett’s Jeep and Carlisle’s black Mercedes were among the fleet, as was Edward’s Volvo. Interesting.

Interesting because inside, neither Carlisle nor Edward were anywhere to be found.

She felt Rosalie move close to her side. “Sorry about the mess. I’ll be changing the engine oil in them later today when we get back from Port Angeles. I’ve been getting everything ready.”

Eliza shivered. One day without Rosalie and she forgot what it was like to hear her voice, much less be anywhere near her.

Overwhelmed, Eliza stiffly began to walk the perimeter of the garage. She gave everything she saw her full attention, forcing herself to not look at Rosalie. She was positive Rosalie knew of the effect she was having on her. There was no way she couldn’t hear her pounding heart, and controlling it was out of the question at this point.

The “mess” Rosalie spoke about was tools organized atop many of the work surfaces. Plenty of walking space ran along the sides of the room and between vehicles, allowing her to see everything. It was _not_ a mess. Eliza, now she definitely was.

Eliza cased the entire garage, desperate to escape the golden gaze that followed her every move. Before she knew it, Eliza ran out of things to look at. The Mercedes that belonged to Rosalie finally drew her eyes.

“This…” Eliza tried to speak but couldn’t come up with the right words. There was no doubt, it was a gorgeous car. She didn’t know what to say that could do it justice.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” Rosalie’s crystal voice cut through the room. “Custom eight-cylinder, thirty-two valve engine. Seven-speed automatic transmission. 475 horsepower. 0-60 in 4.2 seconds.”

Eliza’s jaw dropped. She was enough of a car person to know how insane those stats were. “Custom by you, I assume?”

Rosalie, leaning on the hood of the Mercedes, smiled proudly. “Of course. I’m the best mechanic alive.” Eliza quirked an eyebrow. Rosalie gazed up at Eliza, smug. “I’m a Hale. I never said I was humble.” She smiled at her own joke and looked down. “That’s not a lie.” She rubbed the hood of the car fondly. “I’d never let anyone else touch her…no one but you.”

Eliza’s heart dropped. Involuntarily, her eyes swept up to level with Rosalie’s. “What do you…?”

The vampire raised her eyebrows and smirked. “What _do_ I mean?” She let her smirk fade and glanced away. “When I was younger, I had no idea cars were so fascinating.” Eliza took a deep breath. Subject change.

Rosalie looked back, eyes bright. “Each one is unique. Like every car runs on its own language!” She looked around at the cars in the garage, passion lacing her words. “You must learn them to work with them. When you finally connect with a car, you’d be surprised what you can do.”

Eliza couldn’t stand it. Rosalie was on the hood of her car speaking about one of the few things she truly loved. So Eliza let herself _look_.

She appeared relaxed. Her hair fell in soft waves - naturally perfect, Eliza was sure. Rose-colored lips rested in a gentle expression. Her eyes were calm, with no glare pressing them

Rosalie’s eyes flickered back to Eliza before she dropped her gaze. “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s impolite to stare?”

The one time, the _one_ time she lets herself stare, she gets caught.

Golden eyes were heavy, taking in Eliza’s panic. Casually, Rosalie stood from the hood of her convertible and strode into Eliza’s personal space. “I don’t mind, Bella. Not when you stare.” She gripped the front of Eliza’s shirt gently and pulled her closer. “You’ve been trying so hard not to…” Her eyes began to darken. “Chivalry is attractive, Bella. Forgive me if I don’t want to make it easy on you.”

Eliza wasn’t breathing. She blushed from her head to her toes, every nerve electrified. Rosalie’s eyes, Rosalie’s scent, Rosalie’s presence captivated every sense.  Rosalie smiled slyly. She was knew exactly what she was doing to Eliza. This was their song, and Rosalie loved to play it.

Rosalie was one word away from making Eliza fall apart, but she never got the chance to try. A loud crash sounded from inside the house. Rosalie moved for the door immediately, figure almost a blur. As soon as she moved away, Eliza regained awareness and control. That was…intense. Reeling and shaky, she followed after the vampire.

Arriving behind Rosalie, Eliza saw the remains of an end table scattered across the floor of the hall. A furious Edward Cullen paced before her. Emmett was in the living room, looking tense and ready to fight him. Jasper stood in the entrance to the room he had been in before. He stared at Edward, undoubtedly trying to calm him down. Esme and Alice were standing in the door to the kitchen, observing the scene with caution.

One new vampire stood in the middle of all this - Carlisle Cullen, looking very much like he was supposed to. He was trying to talk to Edward, but the prodigal son wasn’t listening.

Eliza took all of this in with hardly a second to spare before Edward turned on them. His eyes were black, and he wasn’t pretending to breathe. He gave an anguished yell, grabbing at his head, before beginning to pace again.

Carlisle shifted to address Rosalie and Eliza, making sure he could still see Edward too. He made an effort to give her a welcoming smile, but stress showed on his face. “Hello, Bella. I’m sorry that we aren’t meeting under better circumstances. Edward is having a…panic attack.” Edward glared at him as he spoke.

Rosalie moved to keep herself between Eliza and Edward. Her stance was defensive. Eliza had the feeling she was ready to attack him if he even thought about moving toward them. Edward noticed this and focused his glare on Rosalie.

“Emmett, Jasper, why don’t you take Edward outside? The fresh air might be good for him. I’ll join you shortly,” Carlisle ordered.

Without question, Emmett and Jasper moved to either side of Edward, both grabbing an arm and pulling him out the door. Through the windows Eliza saw them round the house, before the walls hid them from her sight. They would take him hunting. Only with Edward gone did Eliza realize she’d been holding her breath.

Carlisle turned and walked toward Eliza and Rosalie, a genuine smile on his face as he held out a hand for her to shake. “Carlisle Cullen. I apologize for my son’s behavior. Edward’s panic attacks can be triggered by the smallest thing.” He glanced at the broken table. “I can’t believe he managed to break a table this time.”

Eliza shook her head. “Good to meet you, Mr. Cullen! And don’t worry, I know I’ve been angry enough to break things before, too.”

Esme stepped to Carlisle’s side. She eyed Rosalie, who was still guarding Eliza. This time there was no apparent threat, but she remained between them as though there was. Rosalie was glaring at Carlisle. She wasn’t breathing either.

If Carlisle took notice of Rosalie, he didn’t show it. “I’ve been working on it with Edward, that’s why he’s been out of school. He’s getting better, but when this presents at an older age, it can sometimes be harder to overcome.”

Hmph. And Edward was supposed to have such great self-control. Trying to forget about Edward’s rage, Eliza smiled. “Like I said, no worries. I hope he works through it!”

Carlisle smiled again and reached forward as though to rest his hand on Eliza’s shoulder. As he did so, Rosalie made a low noise out of her throat, halfway between a hiss and a growl, and backed closer to Eliza.

“Rose.” At Esme’s word, Rosalie stopped, as though becoming aware only then of what she was doing. She took two steps away to the side, looking between Carlisle and Eliza. Her eyes were black.

Carlisle watched her with curiosity, moving slowly until his hand was resting on Eliza’s shoulder as was originally intended. After a moment his attention returned to her. “I’ve been working with your father since we arrived here. He’s a good man, always does what he can to help me whenever the police are involved. He spoke highly of you before you came, and if what I’ve heard from my children is true, his boasting is justified.” Eliza blushed, ducking her head. “Although I did see one thing firsthand,” he said smiling. “I’m not sure that boy’s nose will ever properly heal!”

Eliza rubbed the back of her neck. She was all too aware that the reason she broke the boy’s nose stood right next to her. “Sorry about that-”

“Don’t apologize for protecting my Rose, Bella!” Esme looked at her fondly, and Eliza felt Rosalie’s eyes burning into the side of her head, but she couldn’t hold anyone’s gaze. She was terrible at taking compliments.

“It was a good punch, Bella.” Carlisle winked. The Carlisle Stamp of Approval™. “I’m going to go after my boys and try to help Edward calm down. Enjoy your day in Port Angeles! If you can survive shopping with Alice, I think it will be a medical miracle,” he joked. Carlisle strode out of the house and followed after the irate Edward.

“I heard that, Carlisle!” Alice called from outside the open front door. Eliza hadn’t even noticed her leave the house. Alice was sitting in the front seat of Emmett’s Jeep Rubicon, running and ready to go. Esme shot Eliza a nervous smile as her head reflexively turned toward the sound. She reminded herself not to say anything about Alice's disappearance from the house, and reappearance outside in a car.

“Bella, come quick! We’re losing precious time!” Eliza smiled. She’d almost managed to forget the true purpose of her trip to their house in the span of ten minutes.

Eliza realized Rosalie was no longer beside her. Instead, she stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the floor. Confused, Eliza took a step toward her. When she did so, Rosalie took a step back onto the stairs. She didn’t even look up.

“Rosalie, aren’t you coming with us?” The vampire finally glanced at Eliza. She couldn’t tell what emotion she saw in her eyes, but it looked like fear, or shame.

Esme answered for Rosalie after several silent moments. “Rosalie is going to stay here and work on our other cars or help me around the house. She’ll go with you another time, Bella.”

They were all covering for each other. Eliza nodded and shrugged. “Okay!” Whatever. Let the vampires keep their secrets.

Alice honked the horn, and Eliza knew she had to leave or face the ire of Alice.

Esme followed her to the door. “One more time, I’m sorry for Edward’s behavior. Go have fun with Alice, Bella. We might see you later, if you last!” Esme’s smiled was friendly, but it felt anxious. Eliza glanced once more in Rosalie’s direction. The blonde had disappeared from the room.

Disappointed, she waved at Esme and walked out. “Alright then. I’ll make it! Goodbye, Mrs. Cullen!”

Heading for the Jeep, Eliza gave herself a pep talk. Today was for shopping with Alice, not moping over Rosalie or being frightened by Edward. She wouldn’t let anything ruin their day.

Eliza hopped up into the Jeep next to Alice, who was switching between radio stations. Alice seemed normal, despite Edward’s outburst.

The Jeep flew down their driveway a split-second after Eliza buckled her seatbelt. Despite it, she jerked backward with the Jeep’s momentum. Alice was already paying zero attention to her speed.

Having found a station she liked, Alice straightened and turned an excited face to Eliza. “So, Bella. How many dresses can I buy you today?”

Eliza grinned. “None! Charlie gave me money for the day, and I won’t be spending it on a _dress_.”

“Bella.”

“Alice.”

They sped onto the highway, and Eliza realized that at Alice-speed, they would make it to Port Angeles in record time.

The trees were a green blur around them, Alice singing along to the radio the whole way. She knew every word.

As they drove, Eliza felt weight building up on her shoulders. She was lying to them, they were lying to her. She turned to look at the vampire next to her, dancing to the music in her seat.

She was so very fond of Alice. Of Rosalie. Of all of them, minus Edward. Worry started to threaten in the back of her mind. What would happen if the truth came out? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is everyone still alive?


	9. Rise Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh. Hey guys. So - I can explain. 
> 
> First of all, I've been fighting for writing energy! Unexpected ex drama coupled with final exams have left me pretty exhausted recently. But that's all finally over with. Thank you for your patience!
> 
> Second, this chapter needs to be as close to perfect as possible, more than those that came before it. You'll see why! But I had to write and start over a lot, and edit. Soooo much editing. I think this is as good as I can get it now.
> 
> I hope you all dig the chapter! Your comments are what keep me going, so never be afraid to leave one. Enjoy!

“Wait, isn’t that the same shirt you bought two stores ago?”

Alice gave Eliza an exasperated look, one hand on her hip, the other holding a dress shirt against her torso. “This shirt is cream, Bella. That one is beige!”

Eliza stared back with a blank look. Cream? Beige? “…Is there a difference?”

“Yes, there is!” Alice swung an arm over Eliza’s shoulders and led her toward a wall of similar shirts organized by color. “Beige is slightly darker,” she gestured broadly at a bunch of _white_ shirts with her hand before stepping forward and spinning around to face Eliza. “Cream is warmer.”

She waited for Eliza to respond, expectantly. The correct response must not have been incoming, because Alice gave a dramatic sigh and threw her hands up. “You have so much to learn, my young Padawan.” Alice slipped away through the racks, going on about shades of white.

Messy black hair disappeared amongst the clothing. Eliza sighed. Shoot. She didn’t want to let Alice down. Eliza couldn’t help it if she was color blind compared to the vampire with perfect eyesight and years of shopping experience underneath her designer belt.

But who was she kidding. That wasn’t the real problem. Rosalie was the problem. Her thoughts were stuck on Rosalie. Worry that something was wrong. Butterflies left from their stolen moment in the garage. Guilt because, well. Emmett’s girl.

Eliza kicked a shirt crumpled on the ground further underneath the racks. It wasn’t as if she was _trying_ to spend her and Alice’s Best Friend Shopping Day™ like a lovesick puppy. She couldn’t help it.

Right then she saw a white blazer, the kind of preppy jacket she wouldn’t mind wearing if she was ever inclined to dress up. Grabbing it, she spun around and looked for something to put with it. A navy blouse, that would do. She may be a little distracted by Rosalie, but it was time to make Alice’s day. At least, she could try.

“Hey Alice?” Alice’s head popped up from between clothing racks at far end of the room. “I think this… ivory blazer would look great on you!” Eliza held both pieces for her to see. “Maybe with this navy shirt?”

A wide smile graced Alice’s face as she ran over and snatched the blazer from her hands. She looked it over. She turned it around. She blinked. She looked back up at Eliza, astonished. “You _do_ listen to me!”

Eliza smiled and shook her head. “You’re my best friend Alice, I’ll always listen to you.”

Alice lunged and pulled Eliza into a hug. Before Eliza could return the hug Alice was hurrying away with the clothes in hand. “These are perfect! Stay right there, let me pay for them!” A clicking sound drew Eliza’s eyes down. Alice was in a pair of six-inch heels she must’ve been trying on.

“Ouch.”

“It’s fashion, Bella!”

 

Eliza waited for Alice outside the store, holding their bags. Alice’s bags, to be exact. So far it was an even two bags per arm, nothing she couldn’t handle. The shopping aficionada in question came prancing out of the store with two more bags and placed one on either arm of her personal hanger. She stepped back and scrutinized what Eliza already held.

The mall was busy as one would anticipate for a Saturday. Everyone who walked by them took a of minimum two looks at Alice, who seemed entirely oblivious to the attention. No one was brave enough to speak to them anyway.

“We’ve been here for approximately three hours, thirty-seven minutes, and seventeen seconds –”

“How did you –”

“And Carlisle said you need to eat,” Alice ignored Eliza’s question. “What would you like?”

A mistake. Eliza cocked her head. “You need to eat, too, don’t you?”

Eliza fought hard to keep from smiling when Alice hesitated for the smallest second. “I-do. Yes, we need to eat. Any ideas?”

“I’m not sure what they have. Why don’t we try the food court?” Alice responded with a forced smile, but she went with her nonetheless.

They reached the food court, and Eliza watched Alice’s eyes flit about the room. “You know, I had a big breakfast! I don’t feel like having much for lunch, so I’ll eat when I get home. I’ll go find us a table.”

“Alright!” Eliza’s cheery tone hid most of her amusement at Alice’s weak excuse. She put her attention on finding lunch. The sandwich from Esme was gone before they even arrived at the mall. As good as it was, she wasn't quite full, so she bought another. She already knew deep down that Esme’s cooking would ruin her for anything else.

Eliza found Alice in a booth at the back of the food court, looking through the day’s first buys. No one dared to sit near them, so they spent lunch in relative privacy. As Eliza ate, Alice listed the stores they needed to go to before they left, and in what order. Eliza didn’t quite understand the how and why, so Alice took a spare napkin and a pen from her purse and drew out an _astoundingly_ detailed map of the mall to better explain their plan of attack.

The next phase of their day would primarily involve the shopping Alice wanted to do for Eliza, and Eliza wasn’t sure what to do about that. She only had a few hundred dollars from Charlie and spending it on necklaces and skirts she would never wear didn’t sound entirely appealing. 

“Alice, I don’t want to rain on your parade, but I don’t have that much money! I need to be selective with what I buy, you know?”

Alice stared back, confused. “You think you’re buying everything? No, this is everything I’m buying you!”

That would not do. “I can’t let you –”

Alice held up her hand. “None of that! Consider it my thank you for coming along. I won’t hear any more of it.”

And she didn’t. One hour later Eliza still hadn’t spent the money from Charlie, and they’d blown through two stores with the express purpose of shopping for Eliza. It hadn’t been… terrible. To Alice’s credit, she mostly tried to listen to Eliza’s preferences, although not without confusion. Eliza’s style wasn’t “mainstream” for 2005.

They’d come out with shirts that _weren’t_ flannel or athletic, but still casual and comfortable. Alas, Alice managed to sneak some blouses and sweaters into their haul. It was pointless to try and stop her, because she knew Eliza’s sizing better than Eliza did. And despite Eliza’s best efforts, Alice was on a mission to get her a dress.

When Alice stopped at the entrance of yet another designer store, Eliza set their bags down to give her arms a break. On the opposite side of the walkway, something caught Eliza’s eye. Her eyes widened. It was a shoe store, and on display sat Air Jordans.

Bro.

In a flash Eliza was there, reverently picking them up. Finally something that looked like home. A 2005 Air Jordan 1 Retro High. She needed them.

Venturing further into the store, she found the portion of the wall dedicated to the Jordan brand. “Wanna try a pair on?” The sales associate watched her with a smile on his face. He knew a big fan (and willing buyer) when he saw one.

“Oh yes. Can I try the gray and white ones? Men’s seven.”

The employee nodded. “I’ll grab them!” He went to the back of the store, and Eliza stood and waited. But yet another pair caught her eye along the women’s wall.

Timberlands.

The associate returned with the Jordans to find Eliza holding the display shoe of buckwheat Timberlands and a sheepish look. He smiled even more, handing her the basketball shoes. “Women’s eight and a half, coming right up!”

A few minutes later Eliza walked out of the store grinning from ear to ear. She walked right into Alice, bags sitting at her feet, both hands on her hips. The vampire glanced from the Jordans box under one arm to the Timberland box under the other. “Explain!”

Right. 2005 meets 2018. Mission accepted.

“I promise, I rock them!” Alice looked unconvinced. “Here, let me prove it to you!” Eliza stacked the shoe boxes with one hand and managed to pick up all the bags with the other before running to the next store she saw that fit her needs. Alice walked alongside staring suspiciously at the shoeboxes.

As luck would have it, the store Eliza chose was perfect. She sat Alice down inside a dressing room with their load and ran out to find what would prove her style worked. Alice would not be prepared.

She went back to the dressing room, holding the clothes behind her back. Eliza pointed at Alice. “Don’t look!”

Alice pouted. “We’re both girls here, there’s nothing to worry about!”

“I know, I know, but I don’t want you peeking before I’m ready. Please turn around?” Alice huffed, turning around.

One minute later, Eliza checked herself out. Yes. Look out Twilight. 2018 Eliza is _here_. “Alright, go ahead!”

Alice turned around. Her eyebrows rose. Blue jeans tucked into the gray and white Air Jordan 1s, Eliza wore a red, white, and blue flannel unbuttoned with a white shirt underneath, and a black leather racer jacket – a sweatshirt hood, of course – over the top.

Alice stood and walked around Eliza. She looked her over, ran her hand up and down the sleeve of the jacket, and bent to examine the shoes. Eliza waited anxiously.

After a thorough assessment, straightened. Another once-over. “Damn.”

 “You like it?”

Alice nodded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but _yes_.”

Eliza pulled off the Jordans and slipped into the Timberlands, putting the racer jacket aside. “What about this?”

The vampire took a moment to look over the modified outfit before shaking her head. “I don’t believe it. I haven’t seen this style anywhere! Did you think of it on your own?”

Eliza laughed. As if. “Not really! I’m pretty sure it was a featured style for fall twenty-sevent-” She froze. There wasn’t a sound in the room. Slowly, a deer caught in the headlights, she turned to face the music.

Alice was smirking. “What was that you were saying?” Her voice was too teasing, too knowing. Eliza couldn’t move. She stared at the vampire, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. “Are you going to continue?” When Eliza didn’t respond, Alice moved. She dropped some money on the chair and swept their bags up in one swift motion. Before walking out, she said, “you know you can tell me anything, right?”

At some point in the next minute Eliza began breathing again.

She totally, completely blew her cover. All it took was one sentence, and… what had she done? Her mind spun with all the possibilities of what this meant for her future. She put a hand on the wall to brace herself. The contact grounded her.

Eliza willed herself to relax. This wasn’t _that_ big of a deal. Right? Not if she didn’t want it to be. She’d been thinking about this happening since the moment she landed in Forks. It wasn’t as though mental preparation hadn’t already begun. So she hadn’t gotten to pick the time, place, or circumstance of her big reveal. That was fine. It could have been worse. She could have messed up in front of Edward.

Eliza pushed off from the wall and studied herself in the mirror. This may be alright. Running a hand through her hair, she reasoned that Alice knowing might be a good thing. She might actually believe her, for starters. And if she did, then she might know how to tell the rest of her family.

Yes, she would tell Alice.

Eliza grabbed Alice’s money, packed her new shoes away, and changed back into her own clothes. She peeked out of the dressing room; there was no Alice in sight. She looked at the ridiculous amount of cash left by the vampire. A large part of her wanted to throw the money at Alice and run away. Alice would probably throw it right back. Eliza sighed. She was terrible at accepting gifts but in light of everything else going on, that fight didn’t feel worth the effort.

After leaving the checkout and walking to the exit, the most curious feeling came over her. She spun in a circle. She looked around. Interesting. A weight she hadn’t noticed before was gone from her shoulders.

Alice was outside the store looking through their bags. She turned when Eliza approached – a bright smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Alice knew what her decision was. “There you are! I was beginning to think you’d gotten lost. Only two more stores and then I _promise_ we’re done for the day. We’ll find the perfect dress for you, and it’ll be my treat!”

Betting against Alice was a bad idea, but Eliza was pretty sure Alice wouldn’t be able to convince her to get one. “I doubt it, but. Whatever you say!” Alice grinned and began leading Eliza - willingly saddled with their bags and boxes once more – away.

 

The final store. The last stop. Finally, and Eliza was beat. She was starting to believe that shopping with Alice could replace any other training regimen she’d done before.

Eliza perused the racks half-heartedly. The whole day their dress search had been in vain, and this place would turn out the same. Something tapped her shoulder. She turned to find Alice holding a black fit-and-flare dress: sleeveless, knee-length, with a flattering neckline. It was simple yet powerful. But… it was a dress.

As Eliza opened her mouth to say no, Alice made her move. “Do you like this dress? Also, what are your intentions with my sister?”

“Wha – you – yeah I –”

“Perfect!” Alice was off running.

“Wait, Alice, that’s not –”

“All’s fair in love and war!”

 

Eliza watched the scenery flying by as they made their way back to Forks. Well, she did her best. Alice was driving far enough above the speed limit that she had little time to read road signs as they passed by them, few and far between as they were. “We’re certainly making good time!” Eliza said.

“Mm-hmm,” Alice agreed. Her companion had been oddly quiet since they started driving. She didn’t even glance her way. Despite how fast everything about her worked, the small vampire was lost in her thoughts. It didn’t make sense. That was Eliza’s thing.

Another sign disappeared before Eliza had the chance to read it. Without warning, Alice braked and whipped off the road. Eliza yelped and gripped the seat and the side of her door. They came to a screeching halt in a small gravel… space.

It was probably supposed to be a parking lot, but it was not big enough to deserve the name. There was room for no more than two cars. A sign partially hidden by leafy branches announced it belonged to the state, with an old and crunmbling paved walking path leading from it.

Alice was looking back and forth between Eliza and the path expectantly. “Are you ready?”

“For what?”

A perfectly manicured eyebrow rose in confusion. “We’re going to have a talk, remember?”

“Well yeah, but I –”

“Let’s go then!” Alice jumped out of the Jeep. “We only have so much time left!”

Eliza leapt from the Jeep, slammed the door, and jogged to catch up to Alice. The vampire’s _walking_ pace equaled a brisk jog. “Time left? Time left before what?”

Alice glanced at Eliza. “Huh? Don’t worry about it.” She was going to worry about it. And they didn’t stop walking. In fact, Alice’s pace quickened so that she pulled ahead of Eliza. “Come on slow poke, hurry up or I’ll carry you myself!”

Eliza’s jog slowed but she kept following the sound of Alice’s voice. She had to think. This was The Conversation™. In hindsight, she should’ve been ready. Oh well. Eliza straightened her shoulders and put on a determined face – time to be brave.

Around a bend in the path the pavement stopped, and a small beach began. On an old wooden bench sat Alice, barefoot and moving her feet in the sand. Alice turned to Eliza, grinning. “I’ve been waiting so long my shirt went out of style. We have to go back to the mall!” The vampire laughed her tinkling laugh at the joke.

Eliza rolled her eyes and chuckled. She walked up to Alice’s bench and took a seat next to her. The wood of the bench was smooth from years of weather, and use by patrons looking for someplace to talk about important things. Or small things. Or none of the above. Normal people looking to sit and put life on hold for a minute.

Looking out at the still water, the slow-moving clouds, Eliza wondered if the world stopped to give them this time.

Alice kept dragging her feet in the sand. She watched the grains trailing over them, the harsh brown sand contrasting the smooth white of her skin. Maybe she was stalling, or afraid, or innocently interested in her current distraction. Regardless, Eliza decided uncertainty didn’t look right on her.

The silence wore on until Eliza couldn’t stand it any longer. “So. Super best friend heart-to-heart.”

A quiet laugh. “What makes it super?”

“I mean, you’re super great,” and Eliza couldn’t keep the smile from her voice.

Alice bumped her shoulder. “You’re a dork.”

“Thank you.”

Alice finally faced Eliza. “I’m sorry. For being weird.”

Eliza shook her head. “You’ve been listening to Jessica too much. You’re not weird.”

The vampire smiled in return. “Thank you, Bella. Everyone is weird in their own way you know, but that’s not what I’m getting at.” She fell silent again for a moment. Whatever she had to say was giving her difficulty. Alice sighed. “I’ve wanted to have this conversation with you since I first met you –”

“ – a week ago –”

“Yes, a week ago,” Alice nodded. She let out another frustrated breath, brow furrowed. “I know what I have to say. I’m just not sure – well I am, I have certainty.” She shook her head. “It’s going to sound absolutely outlandish but stay with me. Okay?” Two cool hands wrapped around Eliza’s. “Promise me you won’t run away?”

Eliza gripped Alice’s hands more firmly in return. “Never.”

Alice gave her a brief smile before taking another deep breath. She glanced out at the water again, and back to Eliza.

The world waited for Alice to speak.

“I know you’re not really Bella Swan.”

… Well.

She shouldn’t have been that surprised.

Eliza watched Alice’s timid stare as she answered. “How, uh – how did you find out?”

Alice laughed, as if she couldn’t believe Eliza’s first response was to ask how she found out, and not to deny the claim. “That’s the part I’m afraid of telling.” She studied Eliza’s face again before replying. “I know you’ll believe me, but…” Alice said, more to herself than to Eliza. Closing her eyes she whispered, “I have subjective precognition.”

“Uh –”

“I can see the future!” Alice hurried to add. “Visions of possible futures.” Eliza internally kicked herself because duh, she knew that. Alice looked down from Eliza’s face. “But you were different.”

“ _I_ was different?”

Alice huffed. “This is not coming out how I wanted.”

Eliza ducked to be in Alice’s line of sight. “Hey. I’m still here, I’m just being stupid. Please continue.”

The vampire gave her a wary look. “You’re not weirded out or anything?”

“Not at all. But shouldn’t you already know that?”

 “Maybe. That doesn’t mean I’m not afraid to tell you.”

Where Alice was taking this? The fact she’d found out wasn’t all that surprising, but this was wading into unknown territory. And then the vampire gripped her hands harder.

“I had a vision of you on the day you were born. Back in 1998.”

Wow. That was… unexpected.

But Alice’s voice permeated the haze of shock threatening to overtake her. “I saw my best friend on the day she was born. I saw that, and then us as we are now. Arms linked, smiling, laughing.” The intensity of Alice’s voice grew with every word. “All I knew then was that you were going to be special to me. _And_ that I would have to wait to meet you, so you can imagine how frustrated I was.”

“Patience isn’t one of your strong suits,” Eliza managed to say.

“Fate,” Alice said, “is a funny thing.” Indeed. “Imagine my surprise when I saw you across the lunchroom of Forks High School on Monday. Many years too early by my calculations, with a different last name and father according to my vision – which never changed, mind you.”

Alice had questions, and conflicting facts that needed to be answered, but Eliza only sat there and stared at her. Thought about how everything Alice said made _sense_. But not exactly, because she hadn’t known any of those things until now. And yet they did, as if she had known all along.

“Fate…” Eliza repeated. “That is…” The part of her brain that worked with rationality and logic, she decided, must have given up within the last week.

“Good or… bad?”

Eliza scrambled to elaborate. “No no, good! I just. I don’t know, this makes sense. But it shouldn’t.”

“And yet here we are,” Alice said.

“Here we are,” Eliza agreed.

Alice’s searching eyes did not stray from her. “I’m trying to put it all together, but I can’t quite figure you out.”

Now or never, Eliza. “That’s where I begin, then.”

“If you don’t mind.”

She took a deep breath and twisted to look away. There were so many things to see, views to distract her from what she had to say. But that was the reality – she had to say it. Eliza turned back to Alice, who gripped her hands tighter for support as she had done. If only she knew she’d be the one who would want it.

Time to be brave.

“My name is Eliza.”

Alice mouthed her name, experimenting with how it felt. “El-i-za… Eliza. I like it,” Alice decided with a smile. “You are Eliza.”

Eliza smiled timidly. “There’s more to it than that.” This was the hard part to tell. “I know you’re a vampire. All of you, vampires. I’ve known since I got here. And before.”

Eliza expected an outburst, or some less-than-positive reaction. But it didn’t come.

Alice simply looked at her as though she was piecing a puzzle together in her mind. “I had a hunch you knew, but I couldn’t be sure.”

“Wait, you knew I knew?”

“I didn’t know you knew, I had a hunch that you knew. I didn’t know if you knew that I had a hunch that you knew, so I didn’t say anything.”

“… what?”

Alice gave her a smug smile. “We’ve had several lapses in front of you, and you didn’t acknowledge them at all. Normal humans don’t do that. And,” she tapped her temple, “visions.”

Ah. Eliza wasn’t as sneaky as she thought. 

“You did your best to work around my sight, but it’s harder to do than you may think. We make decisions all the time without even meaning to, without knowing. I watched, and enough slipped through the cracks to give me brief visions. Enough to convince me there was a chance that you knew.”

Hang on. “Wait, so you didn’t see exactly what we’d talk about today?”

Alice shook her head. “It’s not always that precise. I knew we’d have a talk the moment you made your decision at the mall, and I got an idea of what it was for, but nothing specific. You’ve been indecisive about that up until this moment.”

The vampire narrowed her gaze, stumped once more. “Plus,” she added, “you were a bit harder to read at first. It took some work to tune into you. All this begs the question – who you are and how did _you_ know?”

Eliza was astonished, to put it lightly. Alice had almost everything figured out. Except for one big, huge, gigantic thing.

“I’m… uh. I don’t really know how to say it.”

“What do you mean?” Alice asked.

“It’s just... I’m not really from around here.”

“Meaning…?”

Eliza groaned in frustration. “There’s no easy way to say it. You won’t believe me.”

“Eliza, I just confirmed that I’m a vampire who has visions of the future. Try me.”

Eliza stared into Alice’s encouraging eyes and swallowed. Time to be brave. “I knew about all of you before I came to Forks. Before I came to Phoenix. Because where I’m from, it’s Minnesota in 2018, and there’s a book series called Twilight.” Alice was watching her closely, looking confused. Too late to stop now. “The story begins in 2005. It follows the life and escapades of one Bella Swan after she moves to Forks to live with her father Charlie… and there she meets the Cullens, a family of… vampires.”

Alice’s eyes went wide, her mouth slightly open: bewilderment. And she didn’t move. At all. For a full minute. It could’ve been more, it could’ve been less. But either way it dragged on for what seemed like forever.

Without a response from Alice, Eliza observed their surroundings once more. There was no breeze to speak of, clouds hanging in the sky without hardly moving. The lake was still, although a few ripples from fish disturbed its glassy surface here and there. A cheerful birdsong unknown to her chirped from the trees behind them. It was utterly peaceful. Just like _home_. And for a moment, Eliza felt that guilt wash over her again. But per usual, it didn’t last.

Then, Alice moved at last. She rose from the bench and stepped slowly to shore, wading an inch or two into the water. After a moment’s hesitation, Eliza followed Alice. The sand grew steadily more wet until cool water lapped at her feet. It felt good, the sensation providing clarity to her thoughts.

Alice stared at the far shore of the lake, unblinking. Her chest wasn’t even rising to fake breathing. She stood as still as the rocks on the beach, easily mistaken for part of the landscape.

Eliza wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. Then the fear returned. It was too much for Alice, too soon. Maybe she should’ve waited. Maybe she didn’t say it right. Should she have told her at all?

“Eliza.” Eliza whipped her head around to Alice, who’s calm voice clashed with her fears. “You’re worrying too much.”

“Are you alright? Did I say something wrong? I swear I’m not lying to you, and I know it sounds crazy, but –”

“Eliza,” Alice laid a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not crazy. I just needed a minute to think.”

“You mean… you believe me?”

Alice gave Eliza a confused smile. “Do you remember who you’re talking to? Who am I to call you crazy?” She watched a pair of birds fly overhead. “It makes sense.”

“It does?”

“Yes! Well, no. But yes. It explains how you were born to different parents, and how you’ve acted around us. That you come from the future, from another world, doesn’t make sense. And yet…” Alice turned around and began walking back to the bench, and Eliza followed. “Here we are.”

“That seems to be a recurring theme, doesn’t it?”

Over her shoulder Alice shot her a grin, “indeed.”

They reached the bench. Eliza hadn’t noticed, but Alice’s heels were sitting neatly as a pair next to it. Alice picked them up lazily with her right hand and continued walking to the path. Eliza grabbed her Nikes and ran to catch her.

“Wait, are we done?”

“Of course not, silly! But we need to get going before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?”

A sidelong glance and a smirk. “Family meeting.”

Eliza gulped.

 

Silence can be multiple things. It can be the absence of sound, and that is how the word is often used and experienced. But it can also refer to refraining from speech. Beyond that, silence can be understood as the purposeful avoidance of discussing something. The third variety is the sort of silence Alice and Eliza found themselves in as Emmett’s Jeep traveled the final miles to the Cullen house.

It wasn’t as if Eliza hadn’t tried to converse. Alice was obviously the type who made an effort to fill silence even between comfortable friends. But Alice was having difficulty doing so. Eliza did her best to continue their talk, but something was bothering Alice.

The only real conversation that had occurred thus far was, understandably, further clarification. Particularly what Eliza knew of the Cullens.

‘This book series, Twilight. Has it been accurate? The story, everything?’

‘I’ve noticed a few differences already, but I’ve only been here a week. I’m not sure what’ll happen.’ Alice frowned. Eliza was sure that meeting someone that might know the future before her made for an odd experience.

‘What else do you know about us?’

‘A... good bit.’

‘How much is a good bit?’

‘I know how all of you were turned. Or at least I think I do. And how you’ve spent much of your lives up until this point, your personalities, your abilities, your… blood preferences.’

Alice had laughed. ‘Is that so?’

‘Well Emmett likes bear, right? That’s all I got.’ Another laugh. ‘But like I said, what I know could be wrong. Edward can read minds, Jasper can feel and control emotions. Carlisle – vampire via vampire-hunting. Esme – cliff. Edward – influenza. Jasper – vampire wars. Emmett – bear. Rosalie – ah,’ Eliza had faltered, ‘Royce.’ ‘And you – turned by a friendly before…’

‘Before James could finish his hunt? Correct. All correct. Save the rest of that for everyone else so you don’t have to repeat yourself!’ Alice had then returned to her ruminations, leaving Eliza to reflect on what she’d learned. This was where she sat at the current moment.

Her knowledge of the universe as a whole was limited at best, considering she hadn’t read beyond the first book. The parts of the movies she’d caught didn’t help any more either. But Alice knowing so much of her past already… Eliza was confident that didn’t happen so early in Twilight. Another inconsistency with Meyer’s story. She’d have to find out more.

The silence continued. Only with a few precious minutes left before they would arrive in Forks did Alice break through the silence.

“Eliza?”

“Yeah, Alice?”

The vampire took her eyes off the road (Eliza tried not to panic) to pin Eliza with a sad stare. “I’m sorry for being such terrible company during the drive back. The truth is, I feel guilty.”

Eliza cocked her head, confused. “What do you mean? You have literally nothing to feel guilty about. Except for making me spend all that time looking at heels.”

Alice didn’t smile, somber mood staying put. “But I do, Eliza. I can’t stop thinking about it. Where you came from. You had a family, didn’t you?”

Oh. That explained things. “I did.”

“And you had to leave them to come here.” She could only nod. Alice glanced back at the road quickly before returning her attention to Eliza. “I’m so sorry, Eliza. I can’t imagine what that was like.” Quieter, she added, “you were close to them, weren’t you?”

Immeasurably so. “Yeah, I was,” she settled on.

A cool hand wrapped around her own, and sad honey-colored eyes bored into her. “I feel guilty, because in order for me to meet my best friend, you had to give them up.”

“Alice, don’t you dare feel bad. You didn’t have a choice in the matter. I didn’t have a choice either.” Eliza looked up at the darkening sky, the differently colored clouds mirroring the setting sun behind. “This is fate. How else could this have happened? We were meant to meet. And I find a lot of comfort in that.”

Alice smiled, some of the sadness leaving her face. “I think you’re right. Thanks, Eliza.”

“Any time, Alice.” Now was not the time to sort through her own guilt on the matter, and she needn’t bother Alice with it regardless. Eliza let go of those thoughts like she always did and began preparing herself for whatever came next as the Jeep officially passed into Forks.

Alice had a similar plan. “Alright. I’ve looked at every possible future and telling them now, in this way, is the best way.” She raised her eyebrows at Eliza for emphasis. “Trust me.”

“I’ll try!”

The vampire let out a dramatic sigh. “Silly human. Haven’t you learned to trust me by now?”

“It’s Edward I don’t trust,” Eliza replied. “Won’t he have a problem with me? Doesn’t he _already_ have a problem with me?

Alice shook her head. “Don’t let him worry you.”

“But I’m his singer, aren’t I?”

“That’s true. Made worse by the fact that he can’t read your mind.” Aha! Mental shield confirmed. “But he won’t hurt you, the rest of us like you too much.”

Eliza laughed. “I’m just glad there’s no romance happening. In the story, Edward and Bella become a thing.”

Alice seemed to find that idea rather appalling. “What?! Ugh. No way.”

“I know. Lucky for me I don’t have to deal with that.”

“Lucky for Rosalie, too,” Alice murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Alice said innocently and shot her a smile. “Oh! Were Jas and I still together in this book of yours?”

“Obviously,” Eliza said with a grin. “And Carlisle and Esme, and Rosalie and Emmett.”

“Rosalie and Emmett?” Alice repeated, genuinely surprised. “That’s not true at all.”

Eliza’s heartbeat picked up. _Not_ true? That meant… she tried to keep a spark of hope from igniting deep inside, but to no avail. Her time with Rosalie from the morning felt all the more significant.

She tried for disinterest and failed. “Good to know.”

“Uh huh.” Eliza glanced at Alice. She didn’t like that smirk.

The Jeep slowed as they turned into the Cullen’s driveway. “Quickly, before they can hear us. First of all, don’t panic, I’m right there with you. I’ve got your back. Second, tell them what you told me. We’ll all inevitably ask more questions, but it’ll be fine.”

Right. Simple strategy, easy enough. It’ll totally be fine. She hoped.

“And Eliza?”

“Yeah?”

Alice had an odd look in her eyes – Eliza got the feeling it was the closest her friend could come to crying. “This has been one of the happiest days of my life. I’m so glad I finally met you, Eliza.”

Eliza’s heart melted. “Me too, Alice.” Alice intertwined their fingers, and they passed the remaining minute in silence.

When they reached the house, she saw lights on but no movement. In a flash Alice was out of the Jeep and opening her door. Eliza jumped down, slower and much less graceful.

“Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Arms linked, they walked up the path and into the house. No louder than they’d been in the Jeep, Alice said, “family meeting!” One by one, every Cullen trickled into the room. Edward came in last.

Rosalie watched Eliza with an unreadable stare, as beautiful as ever. Eliza’s breath caught when she saw her. Emmett snickered, which she ignored. Esme and Carlisle looked curious. Jasper’s attention was split between Eliza and Edward, who did not look happy.

Alice placed her hand on Eliza’s shoulder for support. Despite the effect of all seven vampires focused on her, Eliza managed to begin. “I have something to tell you all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice and Eliza are BFF goals!
> 
> Oh yeah, about that little cliffhanger... my bad bro, I couldn't help myself! You all good?
> 
> See you soon!


	10. Archers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! Been a long time. 
> 
> It's been a busy summer for me so far! I've worked on this little buddy for a while, and let me tell you, I had fun with it. Which isn't to say you'll all have fun reading it, you'll see what I mean. 
> 
> Initially I had it as part of a MASSIVE chapter, but that was taking too long to write. It made sense to break that up. I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but it's high time I update. 
> 
> I'm sure you've all figured it out, but each chapter title is a song that fits my version of this world, and generally is about Eliza or Rosalie. This one is different. To me it's more of Eliza @ing Edward. Admittedly, it doesn't work as well as other titles, but it'll do for now.
> 
> If you'd like me to post an "official soundtrack" sometime let me know.
> 
> See you at the end!

Silence. Again. Except Eliza was not contemplating the different forms of silence and that which weighed upon her. No. This quiet lay as a deep cavern between herself and those to whom she now opened her very being. Her story was the bridge across, built word by word with purpose. All they needed to do was trust her.

Everything she confessed to Alice the entire Cullen family now knew. In a tactical move, she elected to not convey any further detail; Eliza could tell right from the start that they would end up in this current state. Their action – or lack thereof – told her everything.

To put it lightly, they were _shook._

All Eliza could do was wait. Fidgety, her eyes flitted around the room. 

The glare from lamps and ceiling lights reflected off the large windows, making everything outside appear darker than it was. The sun was nearly down, and night would arrive before long. For several seconds she took in the silhouette of the tree-line, watching the tiniest gust of wind brush through.

As beautiful as it was, anxiousness won out, and efforts to not look at her vampire counterparts quickly failed. It had been at least a minute since anyone spoke. No, a few minutes. They had to be coming around by now, right? She wasn’t quite sure. Time moved differently around them.

The same way a compass always points north, Eliza’s wandering gaze quickly found its way back to Rosalie. It was instinctual.

Deep down, Eliza truly didn’t want to be that someone who can’t help but stare at their (impossibly pretty) crush all the time. Their single, _not-in-a-relationship-with-anyone_ crush. No sir.

But who can withhold from themselves such an indulgence? Everyone has _that_ person. Although no one, nor anything, could ever truly compare to the vision before Eliza.

Rosalie was the easiest and hardest to read – an infuriatingly wonderful paradox that Eliza didn’t mind being lost in. Speaking of being lost, that gaze… Eliza could spend days in the depths of those golden eyes for no other reason than _because_.

Rosalie’s face in this moment was the physical embodiment of  ~~perfection~~  confusion tinged with apprehension. A dash of sadness. Eliza stretched her hands, desperate for a distraction. She tried not to let Rosalie’s reaction bother her. What the vampire heard from Eliza was a little out there, after all. But her opinion mattered more than any other.

Then golden eyes were too much, and Eliza became overwhelmed because _Rosalie._ She needed to look somewhere else before she fell or did something equally embarrassing. Eliza pulled her gaze away to find the others in the living room.

Carlisle had his arm around Esme. They’d curled further into each other since the beginning of her story. His eyes were thoughtful. Hers were sorrowful. But Esme, strong Esme, was the first to speak. “Sweetheart. I’m so sorry. That must be awful.” Carlisle nodded sympathetically.

A sad smile with eyes to match drifted to Esme. Eliza wondered if the vampire could read in them all that she felt and wanted to say. That which she could not find the words for, or else lose her composure. Then…

“Bro!” Emmett yelled, making Eliza jump. His excitement made the house shake. “That is so fricking cool!”

Eliza watched her anxiety shatter with the sheer force of his happiness. “I just told you I’m a time-traveling dimension-hopper and that’s all you have to say?” 

Emmett shrugged, grinning. “Details. No matter where you’re from, you’re still my rad best friend!” He winked at Alice, who stuck her tongue out at him. Emmett crossed his arms. “Eliza suits you way better than Bella ever did. It’s badass.”

Snorting laughter erupted from Eliza – and Jasper. She looked at him and found his eyes were not hard, nor were they unkind. Rather a thoughtful, deep amber. “Pleasure to meet you Eliza,” he drawled with a tip of his head and grinned.

Until he didn’t.

Jasper’s face fell when he looked sharply at Edward standing detached from the rest, rigid and dark-eyed.

Eliza peeked at Alice. Alice, her rock. The vampire flashed her a comforting white smile, but the sentiment didn’t reach her eyes. She fixed her attention onto Edward who was looking between Eliza and Alice with anger. With fear. 

Edward swayed (dramatically) and fumed. “I told you. I told all of you that this girl was dangerous.” He didn’t wait for his family to respond, for Eliza to think. “All she’s done since she got here is lie.”

A blink and the others were positioned defensively – still partly facing Eliza, the unspoken message that they would stand between her and Edward.

“Edward, that’s enough!”

“She knows, Esme.” Edward’s body vibrated. “About us. Every secret.” 

“Someone knowing everything about us is nothing new,” Emmett muttered. Edward glared at him. Emmett rolled his eyes.

Edward provoked the ire of Eliza. She’d done her best to be respectful, and it didn’t make a difference to him. “Really? You think I’d lie about this, willingly make myself a fool? Evidently you enjoy doing that, but I don’t.” He blinked. She clenched her fists and took a step forward. “Edward, I’m telling the truth.” 

“And we should believe you? Your word means nothing, you wouldn’t even tell us your real name–”

“Bite me!”

Edward snarled quietly.

“What was she supposed to do, Edward?” Alice argued. “Tell her Dad that the girl who looks and sounds and acts like his daughter isn’t actually his daughter?”

“The truth would be better than lying–”

“Shut up Edward,” Emmett growled. “You don’t know anything.”

“That’s exactly it! I can’t read her. The one time I can’t read someone I am ignored, and this happens. We’re _entirely_ compromised. We should have left days ago.” Edward laid his glare on Eliza. “Not only that, you’re all letting her stand in our house spinning a fantasy about time travel! It’s preposterous.”

“Edward, we’re vampires,” Jasper retorted dryly.

“At least there’s a scientific explanation for our existence–”

“There’s plenty of science to back up Eliza’s story–”

“Yeah, Emmett? Like what? Give me one sound explanation!”

“Oh please,” Rosalie deadpanned, “you’re only upset because you’ll never understand her.”

Edward sneered. “And you think she’s yours to understand?” 

Rosalie rose, hissing at Edward. Her eyes were black as ink. Eliza should have been concerned by the events unfolding before her, but she couldn’t get past how the sound of Rosalie’s voice soothed every anxious nerve in her body.

“Everyone calm down,” Carlisle ordered. “Jasper?” It took several seconds for the hissing siblings to back off. Edward looked away from them all. Rosalie backed up, staring at the ground. 

For a moment Alice pressed her cool side to Eliza in comfort. Eliza, for her part, took in the first breath she remembered taking in a long time. Slow and deep, it leveled off her irritation with Edward. He was barely in control. She was.

From Carlisle’s side, Esme gave Eliza a reassuring smile. “I think it was very brave of you to be honest with us.” 

 “You can’t tell me you believe her nonsense, Esme,” Edward cut her off.

“I sure as hell do,” Emmett said. “Eliza’s from the _future._ That is so sick.”

“I concur,” Jasper added quietly.

“Coolness is not an indicator of scientific fact, geniuses.”

“You might be wrong there,” Carlisle said. 

Edward rolled his eyes. “You share their childish sentiment?”

Carlisle ignored Edward’s attitude. “That’s not what I meant, but yes. It is rather, ah, _sick_.” He smiled at Emmett’s snicker that followed. “I mean that the science behind her story makes sense.” 

Whoa.

“What do you mean?” Jasper asked.

“The Infinite Earths theory,” Carlisle said, revealing a pad of paper and pen with which he began illustrating his theory. “Otherwise known as the multiverse. The idea that there are infinite parallel universes nearly identical to ours, happening at roughly the same time. But each one is a little different.” He paused to gauge their reactions and got blank looks from all but Eliza, who was geeking out because, you know, comics. “If the theory is true, which I think it is, Eliza comes from a world very much like ours but where we only exist in a story.”

It was like Carlisle took every miscellaneous thought and idea that Eliza had in regards to what happened to her, and pieced them together to finish the puzzle in an elegant and complete way. How had she not thought of that herself?

“Makes sense to me!” Emmett said.

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Whatever, Dickward."

“No!” Edward said louder. “Parallel universes, time travel! They’re from children’s books, fairy tales that pretend  _magic_ exists. It can’t be possible.”

“Again, we’re vampires,” Jasper drawled.

“Edward, your logic doesn’t make sense when you consider our reality,” Alice said.

Carlisle smiled and waved his paper toward Edward. “Think about how people used to perceive the world hundreds of years ago. Magic to them was science we didn’t yet understand! Maybe there’s an explanation for this that will become common knowledge in the future. Maybe there isn’t, and Eliza coming here is a miracle. Whichever it will be doesn’t matter right now, because she’s here.”  

Edward grabbed at his hair, seeking the support he wasn’t finding with his family. “I can’t believe this. Having her around is hard enough for me, and now this? Do you all have a death wish? If the Vol–”

“Eliza,” Esme interrupted quietly. The room went still. She held Edward in a harsh stare that would humble any normal person. “I must apologize. The Edward I know would never disrespect me in such a manner. He’s forgetting himself.” Edward snarled. He pushed past Carlisle and Esme, gave Eliza and Alice a wide berth, and stalked out of the house.

Emmett caught Eliza’s eyes. “Eddie hasn’t been that rude since the thirties!”

As much as Eliza wanted to bask in Esme shutting Edward down, watching the Cullens splinter was rather unpleasant to behold. She turned to Esme. “I’m sorry–”

“Don’t apologize,” Rosalie said.

“We’re the ones who should apologize, Eliza. Edward has had a tough time with this, but he’ll come around eventually,” Carlisle added.

“Eventually being the key word there,” Alice muttered.

“Alice,” Esme warned. “You know as well as I do why he’s being this way.”

“That is not an excuse,” Rosalie countered.

Carlisle tilted his head toward Rosalie. “You’re right.”

“Let’s forget about that stick in the mud for now!” Emmett piped up. “We get to keep her!” In two large steps Emmett plucked Eliza off the ground and spun her around before setting her down. Eliza was dizzy and stumbled where she stood, making them both laugh.

Alice shook her head. “Emmett, I swear, if you break the human I will be extremely upset!”

Jasper chuckled. “As will I!" 

Esme laughed. “Not just you, Alice, we’d all be…” Esme trailed off and looked at Carlisle. He shared her somber expression.

“Eliza…” Carlisle said hesitantly. “You must’ve had a family.”

Her muscles went taut. She swallowed. This was expected. These questions were natural. But that didn’t stop the cold from creeping up her back, or the memories from flashing in her mind. Jasper shifted and watched her with sad eyes. 

Eliza took a deep breath before answering. “Yeah, of course. I’m not sure where they are now. There’s no way to know, you know? And I don’t know how I could go back to them anyway.” 

“Unfortunately, neither am I,” Carlisle murmured.

She went on. “I’m alright! I’ve adjusted well.” They looked at her, incredulous. “I guess I don’t react a ton to big things like this? It’s weird. Just how I am.”

“This is a pretty big thing,” Alice said.

Eliza sighed. “I don’t know where they are, but I have to believe they’re fine. And yeah, some of it’s been hard. I have my moments…” She met Rosalie’s eyes. “You don’t have any idea how much you help.” Spoken to all, meant for one.

Eliza willed Rosalie to see her, to acknowledge what was happening; that Eliza always ignored feelings of guilt and fear or of tumbling out of control, hid them away as if they weren’t there at all… and then she met Rosalie, and those feelings are sometimes there, but everything around her – and Eliza herself – finally fit into place.

“Were you close?” Rosalie asked quietly.

Eliza held her gaze. “To them, yeah. I was.”

“Would you tell us about them?” Esme implored.

Eliza considered it. Maybe telling them would make her feel better. “I had a mom, and a dad. An older sister, Lily. We’re… we were five years apart. Super close. I’m lucky,” Eliza paused, “was lucky.”

Rosalie and Esme lowered their heads. The boys frowned. Alice, her rock, rubbed thumb along Eliza’s shoulder. “I had grandparents too. And a dog. Don’t forget Bing.” The memories came faster and faster and hurt more and more, because she’d lost it all. 

The Cullens watched her with sad understanding written on their faces. They, too, lost everything they loved. Maybe not as abruptly – at least their loved ones lived in the same world for a while. The somber camaraderie was both welcome and unhelpful in that moment. But she wasn’t ready to say more. “If it’s alright with you guys, I’ll tell you another time.”

Esme blurred forward and wrapped Eliza in a hug, one of those motherly hugs that makes you feel safe. Eliza hugged her back as hard as she could. She didn’t care the others were watching her. She needed this. Stepping back, Esme wiped away the single tear that sneaked down Eliza’s face. Cupping her cheek, Esme smiled before returning to Carlisle’s side. And Eliza felt a whole lot better.

In a rare moment of seriousness, Emmett sniffed and engulfed Eliza in a gentle hug. He held her as if he was afraid of breaking her. “It’ll be alright, dude.”

She smiled into his shoulder. “Thanks, bro.”  

Alice tapped Emmett on the arm, throwing her arms around Eliza when he stepped away. “I’m sorry again,” she whispered. “But I’m so glad you’re here.”

Then something pricked at Eliza’s peripheral awareness, and she twisted in time to catch Rosalie quickly look away. She’d seen Eliza almost break down. She’d seen her cry. And Rosalie Hale looked distraught.

Part of Eliza yearned to comfort Rosalie. But for perhaps the first time in front of her, Eliza’s mind was painfully clear. As much as she desired it, Eliza could not go to Rosalie.

Rosalie looked once more and met Eliza’s stare with distress. Eliza felt it too, like a wave slowly washing over her. But like always Rosalie pulled her eyes away and the feelings disappeared with it. Eliza hardly remembered the sensation when it was gone.

“I think it’s time we get Eliza to bed,” Carlisle said. Eliza blinked and came back to herself. Was it really so late?

“Charlie wants to take you fishing tomorrow!” Alice teased. “You need your sleep, Eliza.”

“Man, I forget that stuff!” Emmett said. “Sleeping half your day away you miss out on a bunch! Humans are strange.”

Eliza smiled. “Dude, sleep is glorious and my favorite thing ever.” Alice leaned into her vision, pouting. “Second favorite thing ever.”

Alice giggled and looped her arm through Eliza’s. “I’ll take her home now!”

Emmett was the one to pout this time. “No fair! You saw her all day!” 

“Emmett,” Esme said with emphasis. “Alice would like a little more time with Eliza.” Instead of responding Emmett looked around the room. His brow furrowed in confusion.

Eliza did the same and realized Rosalie was gone. Vanished into thin air. Eliza hadn’t even noticed the smallest twitch of movement.

“Come on, Eliza!” Alice stood by the door but her eyes were fixed on part of the ceiling above at the other end of the house. Her face was unreadable. When she brought her attention back to Eliza, she smiled like nothing was wrong.  That must be where Rosalie was.

Carlisle stepped forward and took her right hand in both of his own, distracting her. “Thank you again, Eliza. I look forward to learning more about you. But the hour is late, and you best be on your way.” He walked away and Eliza smiled because _the hour is late_ , and wow that outdated speech was endearing.

Esme came after him and pulled Eliza into yet another hug. “Sorry about all the hugs dear, I can’t help myself.”

“I will never complain about your hugs for as long as I live.” 

Esme laughed. She pulled away and grabbed hold of both of Eliza’s hands. The cool skin, soft but solid, was comfortable. “I’ll see you soon, honey.”

When Esme stepped back Eliza saw Jasper give an awkward wave from the opposite side of the room. “Goodbye for now, Eliza.” His smile was half grimace.

“Bye Jasper!” Eliza had been hoping maybe Jasper’s control wouldn’t be a problem, but apparently that was wishful thinking. At least his control appeared to be better than in Twilight.

Emmett appeared in front of her, holding out his fist for a fist bump. “Still working on that secret handshake! Good thing I’ve got time. This will do for now.” Eliza grinned and obliged. “Ow, you’re tough!” He shook his hand like it hurt before belly-laughing and running away. Easy for him, he didn’t fist-bump a rock. She rubbed her hand gingerly.

Walking out, Eliza whispered “goodbye, Rosalie.” If Rosalie cared to listen, she would hear and know Eliza was thinking about her. She stopped. Wow. What a hopeless romantic thing to do. What was happening to her?

Eliza jogged down their front walk and climbed into the Jeep next to Alice. Alice fiddled with the radio all the way down their drive. Eliza was too nervous to ask how she thought it went, so she watched evening rapidly descending on Forks. 

As soon as they got to the main road Alice turned to her, beaming. “You did great! Absolutely great. Thank you for telling us!”

“Of course, I–” Eliza cut herself off when Alice’s face went blank for the quickest second. Shaking her head, Alice’s face remained passive instead of excited like moments before. “Whoa, what was that?”

Alice hummed. “I’m not sure! A possibility I wasn’t expecting, that’s all.” She wasn’t going to tell her. Whatever. A quiet moment later, Alice surprised her. She drew her gaze up and down Eliza’s figure, ending on her face.

Eliza raised an eyebrow. “Like what you see?”

Alice giggled. “Very much so,” she smirked.

Two can play at this game. Eliza stretched and propped an arm up on the window. She leveled Alice with smolder. “You come here often?”

“My my, Jasper will have to be careful. I dare say you’re sweeping me right off my feet!” Eliza winked, grinning victoriously as Alice began another bout of giggles. Then she realized they were at Charlie’s house.

Eliza popped the door open, stopping halfway out when a cool hand pulled her back. Alice stared at her with wide eyes. “Trust in fate, Eliza. It got us this far.” When Eliza didn’t say anything (what could she say?), a sly smile grew on her face. “Or trust in me, whichever you prefer.”

“Whichever pleases you most,” Eliza said in an English accent. “Goodnight, my fair lady.”

Alice drew her lips together and dipped her head toward Eliza. “You’re adorable!”

Wait… no. “I’m not adorable.”

“You are.”

“I’m suave and charming!”

“A-dor-a-ble!” Alice sang as the Jeep sped away.

Whatever.

Eliza trudged into the house. The lights were still on, and Charlie was sitting in his recliner. She was not surprised to see two pizza boxes on the counter. Pizza that was almost gone. “How could you betray me.”

Charlie jerked. He watched her with trepidation. “It’s not what it looks like!”

“The pizza is almost gone!” 

“I wasn’t sure when you’d be home, and I didn’t want it to go to waste!” 

“Uh huh.” She rapidly put the remaining five pieces on her own plate. “I hereby claim these as my own, you traitor.”

“I love you, Bells. Even when you’re hungry and go all caveman on me.”

She grumbled incoherently and bit into a piece, sitting down on the couch. The pizza was gone within ten minutes. They ate in relative quiet as they switched between televised sports. Every so often, one would make a sound of excitement at a play, or indignation at the game and its referees.

Of course, all good things come to an end. “So how was the date?”

Eliza sputtered. “What?”

“The date. With that – Rosalie, was it?”

Eliza scrambled to explain, stubbornly ignoring how her heartrate jumped at the suggestion. “It wasn’t a date, and she ended up not coming with! It was just Alice and I.”

Charlie frowned. “Sorry Bells. Probably for the best though, you were pretty nervous.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

He grinned. “I can’t believe you made it out of the house his morning, you were so scared.” He took an innocent sip of his drink. “I’m surprised you didn’t forget to wear shoes or something.”

Eliza glared and stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s not like I mean to make a fool of myself in front of her! She’s drop-dead gorgeous, alright? I assure you that normally I’m incredibly suave.”

“Sure.” Charlie stood up. “Whatever you wanna think, Bells.” He walked out of the room, clapping her on the shoulder as he went. “You’ll get her next time, Scrapper.” 

Eliza sighed.

  

Water trickled down her arm. Eliza swore. She hated that. Soon her entire forearm would be wet, and the lower part of her shirt. Not cool. 

Eliza groaned, leaning her elbows on the bathroom counter and holding her head in her hands. Her body betrayed the heaviness that fell upon her thoughts when she came upstairs for the night.

She’d begun thinking of her other world. And like how the water from washing her face rapidly spread further down her arms and shirt, the memories were getting stronger.

Drying herself, she made her way back to her bedroom. She closed the door, dropped down to her bed, and switched the light off. A sliver of light came into her room. Some people slept worse that way, but Eliza welcomed it like an old friend.

The light of the moon and the stars was always there to comfort her and listen to her worries each night.

Eliza rubbed at her eyes. For perhaps the first time she arrived in this world, she couldn’t get her memories and feelings to go away. And that’s her thing. She controlled her emotions or ignored them.

They didn’t control her.

Even-keeled, that’s what everyone called Eliza. If she could start being that again, everything would be fine.

Then she remembered the perfect distraction. Turning onto her side, Eliza thought of Rosalie and how pretty she was even with worry coloring her features. Worry caused by Eliza, and Edward. Edward, who's criticisms hadn't exactly been off the mark, even if a bit unfair. She sighed. Eliza  _had_ lied, even if for good reason. Eliza  _was_ bringing trouble.

No, don't go down that rabbit hole. Back to Rosalie.

Eliza desperately wanted to console Rosalie. The interactions they shared had been charged with some… thing that Eliza couldn’t figure out. But that gave her no right to comfort her tonight, despite her obvious distress. 

Sleep began to pull her eyes closed. Eliza fell asleep with plenty of feelings to figure out about a multitude of things. But being human meant sleep came first, and those could be dealt with tomorrow.

If Eliza managed to remain awake a little longer, she might’ve caught sight of an angel far away in the trees outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all have /that/ person.
> 
> How was that? 
> 
> I don't want you all to think Edward is a bad guy. That's not at all what he will be in this story! But he has some valid (for their universe) concerns, and issues of his own to work through. I think outbursts like this make sense for his character.
> 
> I decline to comment on Rosalie because, well. You all have to wait and see. The others? I love them. Especially Esme, my goodness.
> 
> You know, I don't think any of you are ready for what's coming!


	11. Kings and Queens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back again, disastrously late with this update! It was hard to write because I lost my voice for an important character in this chapter, and had to find him again. 
> 
> Energy to write has been lacking with my summer internship and now a new semester, but never fear! My sister is now on my case. She's got your backs.
> 
> I have edited this over and over, and I will never be satisfied. Here goes nothing! Enjoy!

The sensation of sliding when one is trying to remain asleep is not a welcome one. Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to ignore.

Eliza opened her eyes, body twisted and framing the left side of her bed. A large and bulky foot rest was the prime suspect for her predicament. To solve the riddle of who dared to wake her, Eliza had to be sneak-like. Closing her eyes to feign sleep, she poked the thing with her foot. It didn't move. How curious. She lifted her leg to kick it, but a warm hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed her foot.

Eliza laugh-shrieked. The bottoms of her feet are _sensitive_. “Dude!”

Charlie chuckled, his right hand still holding her foot captive. “I forgot how ticklish you are!”

“I am not ticklish…” Eliza grumbled and glowered at him. No one could know that. She would take her kryptonite to the grave.

“At least now I know how to get you up in the morning."

“Don’t you dare.” Eliza warned. She threw off her covers and stood, stretching and enjoying the feeling.

“I already did. This is vital, Bells. You could sleep through anything.”

Lowering her arms, she lumbered over to the window and peeked through the curtains. It was still dark outside. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Charlie rubbed his scruffy chin. “Let’s say a wild moose breaks into the house and I can’t get to my gun. We’d have to escape. If it takes long to wake you, we're toast. Now I know how to save us.”

“A… a wild moose.”

“Yep.”

Eliza tapped the side of her forehead to feign thinking hard as she walked to her closet. “How is the wild moose breaking in? Will they run through the wall? Pick the lock?”

“Bella.”

“Break a window and convince the friendly neighborhood racoon to crawl in and open the door?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“Does the moose have a traumatic backstory? What is their motive?”

“Bells –”

“Do they want nothing more than to feel love, and munch on a leftover muffin? Do you know what happens when you give a moose a muffin?”

“That’s enough,” Charlie chuckled.

“Waking me up this early is dangerous. My stupidity filter is malfunctioning.”

“I’m sure.”

A shirt and a pair of pants came flying out of the closet and smacked Charlie in the head. Eliza laughed at the look on his face, her shirt covering half his frown. “Why did you wake me up this early?”

He dumped her clothes on the floor. “Wondered when you’d remember to ask.”

“Seriously, why am I awake at 4:30 in the damn morning? Do we ride for Gondor at dawn?”

Charlie smirked. “Gondor calls for aid, and Rohan will answer. And by Gondor, I mean Harry Clearwater. It's gonna be overcast and cool today, perfect weather to fish.”

Alice said something about that yesterday.

Charlie crossed his arms, watching Eliza like she might attack at any moment. “You've surprised me a lot since you came back. The sports, the eating, the talking. Havin' you is great. And I know you’ll not like everything I do, but. The lake is pretty Bells." Charlie kicked his feet a little, socks sliding on the floor. "We had great luck fishing yesterday and I was wonderin’ if you’d come this time. It doesn't matter if we catch a lot or not. Being out there talking with you would be nice enough and,” He shook his head, “I know I sprung it on you –”

Charlie sounded like her own Dad. Her other Dad.

“I’m down.”

Charlie stopped mid-ramble. “What?”

“I’m down!”

He looked at her, confused. “Down what? Do you mean on the ground? Is something on the ground?”

“N-no I mean I’m down to go. I’d like to go with you.”

He paused. “Oh.” A second. “Oh! Good! That’s good! I’ll, uh. I’ll go pack another tackle box for you!” Charlie shuffled to her door and stopped to look back. “When will you be ready?”

Eliza thought about it. "Half hour? Forty-five minutes?”

Charlie scrunched his eyebrows together. “I was hoping you’d say ten.”

“I can wake up at 4:30 in the morning but I can’t work miracles, dude. Gotta wash my face, brush my teeth, eat a balanced breakfast –”

“I know, I know. Should’ve guessed as much. How about this, I’ll head over to the res now and help Harry get the boat ready. Meet me there in an hour?”

“Good plan.”

Charlie beamed at her. “You’re sure you’re okay with this? I don’t want you to come out of pity for your old man.”

But she didn’t. Because back home in her other world, she fished with her other Dad. She looked at Charlie, all flannel and stubble and gray hair peeking out here and there. Here was Dad, too.

“Dad, I want to go.” She held his stare and hoped he could see that she meant it. He smiled and left.

Eliza had a leisurely breakfast with the time he gave her. Eggs, bacon, toast. Delicious choices. Before she left, Eliza realized it might be cool on the lake. Thus, a flannel shirt day to match Charlie.

Driving her old red truck to meet Charlie and Harry, her morning took an unexpected turn. She was going by a neighborhood off the main road, a nice-looking neighborhood. A white sign read “SALE” in big black letters.

Eliza was not the type who usually stopped at that sort of thing. This one pulled her in.

Judging by appearances, the neighborhood was one of Forks' newest. It was also entirely quiet, early as it was. Another sign at the end of a driveway announced the sale. Several random pieces of yard equipment lay on the grass of the large house.

Eliza parked on the side of the road and got out to read the fine print on the sign. The sale had been yesterday. Hmph.

Frustration shifted to elation when her eyes found a gorgeous bike. Not a deliver-the-paper-bike, but a motorcycle. A Triumph. _How_ did she miss it before? Eliza jogged over and ran her hands down the side and over the seat.

She shivered as a gentle wind brushed her hair, carrying a familiar scent. Grandpa. Holding onto those handles in an alien universe, Eliza felt safe.

“It’s a marvelous bike, isn’t it?”

Eliza jumped. An older man approached her from the house. Creases and crinkles contrasted the sparkle in his eyes when he smiled.

She jumped to explain herself. “Sorry to bother you sir, I couldn’t help it! I had to look.”

“You like motorcycles?” He asked, ignoring her explanation. “Do you know how to ride?”

Eliza smiled shyly and nodded. “Very much so. My Grandpa loved Triumph." She looked at the motorcycle again. "Guess I got that from him. He taught me everything. He was gonna come with me to buy my first.”

She stopped, because that's where their story stopped.

She fell through time. Through space. Both. Lost her grandpa, lost everything.

But he didn’t need to know that.”

The man coughed. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He looked back at the motorcycle. “I’ve been riding as long as I can remember. And since I can’t remember, that’s none of your business,” he winked. “This here is the last bike I bought. I’ve owned a bunch, but this one is special.”

“Because it’s your last?”

“Well yeah.” He put one of his hands in a pocket, teetering onto his toes and back to his heels. “I rode this puppy all over the state and out of it. Wonderful ride. And while I may look like a spring chicken,” he gestured to himself, “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Eliza listened patiently, reluctant to leave and end their conversation. Why, she wasn’t sure.

“Had our sale yesterday, my wife and I. We’re moving south for the winter. Permanently!” He chuckled and looked up. “Don’t wanna take much because Lord knows we’ll buy more than we need there.”

The man stepped closer and rested a hand on the seat of the motorcycle. He closed his eyes before slowly turning to look back at the house. An older woman was standing on their front sidewalk, smiling.

Okay. What. What is happening.

“To get to my point. Lots of people were looking at this yesterday, but none of them had _it_.”

“It?”

“Moxie. Attitude. Spirit.”

“Swagger!” The woman called.

“The right sort of scruffy,” the man added.

Scruffy?

“We want you to have it.”

Eliza stammered. “What? You want me to? No, I can’t afford it, I was only looking –”

The woman waved her hand. “We don’t want you to buy it, we want you to have it!”

Eliza looked between them, completely bewildered. They wanted her to… take the motorcycle.

“Don’t worry about the money, I swear we don’t need it. Like I said, it’s more important the right person has it. I don’t know why, but that’s you.”

Eliza stared at him, dumbfounded. What etiquette existed for this sort of thing?

The woman walked over to them with papers folded in her hand. “This should be all you need to make it official. And the key,” she pulled a key with the Triumph logo from her pocket and held them out for Eliza. 

It took superhuman strength for Eliza to close her hand around both.

The man beamed and shook her free hand with great enthusiasm. “Congratulations! You are the proud new owner of a 1997 Triumph Speed Triple. Find a good mechanic and no one will know it ain’t new.”

“Drive along the coast! Breathtaking experience,” the woman said.

Eliza finally managed to speak. “Are you sure I can’t pay you? I don’t think I can take this!”

The man smiled. “Clean it, feed it, enjoy it – that’s the only payment required. You’re the right one.”

She looked at the papers and saw he shared a name with her grandpa. His was there in this man’s eyes: bright-eyed, smiling, generous, _happy_. How could she say no?

She didn't.

Together, the three of them lifted the motorcycle into the back of Eliza’s truck. They held their own, strength age-defying. The woman hugged Eliza like they were old friends, and it was strange but nice at once? Every time she tried to thank the man, he thanked her right back.

Melancholy caught up to Eliza back in her truck. Her mind whispered they wouldn't meet again.

Eliza struggled to follow a crudely drawn map on the back of a take-out menuto La Push. Damn, she missed her iPhone.

The road into La Push stretched far ahead, dirt and thick forest all around. Truck chugging along, Eliza crossed into No Cullen Zone™. It left her feeling uneasy.

By some miracle Eliza found and parked at Harry's house. Charlie stalked over, frowning. Damn. She had time to reverse and –

He arrived at the back of the truck before she could escape. “What the hell is this?”

Eliza scrambled to meet him and acted causal, leaning on the side. “A motorcycle.”

Charlie scowled. “I see that." Eliza bit back her cheeky response, watching him rub his head. “I left you for an hour – an _hour_ – and you come with a _motorcycle_.”

"I mean. There are worse things."

“Take it back. I’m the police chief, my daughter can’t steal.”

Eliza gaped. “You think I stole this? I didn’t steal it! Although I wouldn’t say I can’t steal, more like I shouldn’t –”

“Not helpin’ you Bells.”

Eliza raised her hands. “Whoa now. It was an accident.”

“An accident.”

“Yep.”

“It just. Drove into the bed of your truck. All on its own.”

Eliza pointed behind. “I was driving and found this beauty for sale. It was _calling_ me. The couple begged me to take it, because they want the right person to have it!”

Stop. Charlie couldn’t understand. Couldn’t know the truth about home.

Resignation felled her enthusiasm. “I don’t mean to upset you. It was free. They wouldn't let me say no.” Silence. “Please.”

Please say yes. Please don't cut this link to home.

Charlie approached the motorcycle. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing every visible part.

“Alright.”

Eliza blinked. “What?”

“You can… keep it.”

“I can keep it?”

Charlie nodded and mumbled. “Yeah.”

Eliza stuttered. "Why?”

Charlie sighed. “Theo. That old neighbor who got you into this.”

Theo was her grandpa's middle name.

"Second, there are more dangerous ways to spend your time.” He cleared his throat. “You’re a responsible young lady and I want you to know that I trust you. Long as you’re safe about it.”

“You know I will be!” Charlie nodded briskly, turning away. Eliza couldn't believe it. “You'll let me, even though you’re the police chief?”

Charlie snorted. “Doesn’t mean I can make riding motorcycles illegal for you.” He pointed a finger. “But first thing tonight we’re buying a helmet, and I’m going along because it’s gonna be a damn good one.”

“Yes sir!”

Charlie walked back to Harry’s house, Eliza at his side. “Think about takin’ it to Jacob, he’s a mechanic. Could fix it up a little for you. I’ll feel better if he says it's in good shape.” He winked at her. “Shouldn’t need to pay him more than a pizza or two.”

_Right. Jacob. Mechanic Jacob. Werewolf Mechanic Jacob. Oh boy._  

“Yeah, definitely,” Eliza said hurriedly.

Harry stepped around a corner of his house waving a fishing pole. “Stop giving the girl a hard time Charlie, she’s at the age where they like to do badass things!”

“Yeah whatever,” Charlie yelled back. “Come on Bella. You can make it up to me by lettin’ me catch more fish than you.”

 

“Mind the rocks,” Charlie said. The boat glided across the water, the hum of their engine all that disturbed the serene morning on the lake. Birds called, small mammals chattered, and ripples on the surface betrayed fish below that surely mocked the humans above.

“Mind them yourself,” Harry retorted.

“You hear what I put up with, Bells?”

Harry laughed. “I’ve been fishing this lake as long as I can remember, and he still tells me where to go.”

Charlie did his best to mask the pout on his face. “Water safety is no joke,” he grumbled.

“Go back to missing on those fish.”

Charlie scoffed. “Says the man down two fish to my four!”

They’d been on the water for three hours: Charlie had four fish, Harry and Eliza two each. In the later hours of the morning, catching fish would be more challenging. 

It was a hazy, cloudy day. The sun was a golden blur behind the clouds. Relaxing back in her seat, Eliza gazed up and let her mind wander. Rosalie’s hair might glow like that in sunlight. No, it’s definitely prettier than that.

There was no denying, Eliza decided. Rosalie was a lot like the sun. A sun. Her sun.

“Charlie, your daughter looks twitterpated.”

“Yep.”

“What?”

“Twitterpated. Leaning and staring and sighing like that. Dopey smile. I’ve seen it before.”

“I’m not… twitterpated,” Eliza mumbled. A smile betrayed her.

“Twitterpated,” Charlie confirmed. “Whenever I bring the girl up, Bella blushes and stutters like a lovesick fool.”

Eliza grunted and looked away, flushing bright red. They had no idea what she went through because Rosalie _existed_. That alone could trigger a Gay Panic™.

“Is that so? You’ll have to bring her by! Ol’ Harry will see for himself if she’s good enough for ya.”

Eliza grimaced. “Mhmm, yeah. I’ll, uh. I’ll see about that.”

“Oh, here here here! Charlie, Bella, cast over here. A big one!” And they cast. And they waited. And they fought with several more fish that morning. And Eliza fought to keep her mind from the clouds and an unfairly gorgeous vampire.

 

Around noon they docked and went back to Harry’s for lunch. Sue greeted them with a ready sandwich bar. There was a lot of friendly yelling and elbow-throwing in that small kitchen, but it was warm and inviting. Eliza realized she missed that familial feeling. It was sort of there with the Cullens, but this was different. Warmer. Literally.

By the time they were ready to eat, a knock on their door revealed Billy Black.

“He skips the work and shows up for the food!” Charlie laughed.

“Are you surprised?” Billy retorted with a grin.

“I see where your priorities lie!” Harry joked. Thus, Billy was welcomed in.

Eliza volunteered to make him a sandwich, so they could all catch up. She wanted the time alone to think anyway.

Her needed tune-up. First choice? Rosalie. Except even the idea of asking Rosalie was intimidating. No, the logical choice was Jacob. Except Jacob was now a werewolf. Which would be a problem except… he was kind of a new person in a world where everyone “knows” him. He might understand what she was going through.

The more she thought about it, the more Eliza wanted to tell Jacob. She liked the Cullens, but it would be nice having someone else to be real with.

“How have you been, Bella?” Eliza jumped. Billy waited behind her. “I’m sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Nah it’s chill. Don’t worry.” Eliza thought for a second. “I’m doing well! Yourself?”

“Oh fine, same as always.” He paused. “Is school going okay?”

This was odd. “Uh, yeah! Always is,” Eliza said guardedly.

“Right, right.” Then quieter, he added, “are you still hanging around with the Cullens?”

Eliza frowned. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

Billy nodded seriously. “I don’t mean to pry or be rude,” he said, “even though that’s exactly what I’m being.” Billy chuckled humorlessly. “Spare an old man patience for his nerves. Just be careful. I trust you can take care of yourself.”

He smiled at her before turning to leave. She released her breath. All things considered, that could’ve been a lot worse. Then she remembered Jacob. “Billy, where’s Jacob? I was hoping to hire a mechanic!”

Billy kept a friendly smile on his face. “Jake wasn’t feeling well last night so I let him sleep in. Probably won’t wake for a long time. I’ll tell him you said hello!” Brusquely, Billy closed the remaining distance between himself and the safety of his friends.

The good news of that conversation: Billy and Eliza were on good terms. The bad news: Jacob was either still transforming or refusing visitors.

That wouldn’t do, not with motorcycles to fix and secrets to be told. 

When everyone had eaten until long past the point of full and sat engrossed in a game, Eliza made her move. “I’m getting a little restless, I think I’ll go for a walk. That cool with everyone?”

Sue was the only one to look away from the TV. “Of course. Seth and Leah might be fooling around with their friends at the beach if you want to see them! Otherwise feel free to walk around.”

Eliza internally fist-pumped. “I will!”

Charlie waved, distracted. “Be careful Bella.”

Stepping outside, Eliza remembered she had absolutely no idea where the Blacks lived. And she couldn’t ask Billy.

Well. Here goes nothing.

Whistling to herself, she picked a direction that looked friendly and started walking.

Ten minutes passed. The air was thick with the smell of trees, and grass, and flowers, and all things wild. A lovely forest scent, as far as forest scents go. Not knowing where she was going wasn’t so bad in a place as nice as this.

“Hey over there!” A boyish voice yelled.

Eliza turned toward the sound. Two teenage boys were running toward her down the dirt path from whence she came.

“Hullo!” Eliza greeted back with a wave.

The two stopped in front of her, breathing hard. They wore t-shirts and jeans, hair tied back and big smiles.

“Are you lost?” The first boy who’d yelled asked.

“We’ve never seen you around here. And we don’t see many new people.” The second said bluntly.

“Especially none as pretty as you.”

“Dude!”

The first boy rubbed his arm where the second had hit him. Eliza smiled but inwardly groaned, because sometimes straight boys… ugh.

“Do you need help finding your way?” The second boy repeated the question.

She couldn’t waste any more time wandering around, not if she wanted to talk to Jacob. And she had a lot of things to talk to Jacob about. “Yeah actually. I’m looking for where Billy and Jacob Black live.

The first rolled his eyes and muttered. “Course she’s going to see pretty-boy.” If only they knew who she actually found pretty.

The second elbowed him. “Sure thing. Keep walking another few minutes and you’ll hit a red house. That’s them, can’t miss it.”

 “Thanks guys. I owe you food sometime. Donuts, pizza, fries, you name it.”

The first boy looked at her hopefully. “All of the above?”

Eliza smirked. “I mean I can get all of the above but that doesn’t mean I’ll share.”

“Ohh!” The second boy laughed. “I like you. What’s your name?”

“El-Bella. Bella Swan.” 

Their eyes went wide. “Swan? Charlie Swan’s daughter?”

“The one and only!”

“Nice going,” the second boy elbowed the first again. “Flirting with the police chief’s daughter.”

“Hey!”

Their antics were mildly amusing, but she needed to keep going. “Thanks for the help guys. And because it’s only fair, what are your names?”

“Jared!” The first said.

“Quil,” the second said.

Eliza pointed at each in turn. “Jared, Quil. Got it. I’ll see you around!”

So Jared and Quil weren’t shifters yet. By the sound of it, neither were Seth, Leah, or “the friends” Sue spoke of. Jacob was the only one. For now.

She jogged along the path until that red house came out of the trees. There was no activity that she could sense. Slowly, Eliza walked up to the door. It opened with a light push.

A low grumbling came from somewhere in the house. Following the noise showed her most of the place, leading to a door left half-ajar. Nudging it open revealed a bigger, leaner Jacob Black sprawled across a bed made for someone half his size. The grumbling was his snoring. No signs of fever or fur.

This wouldn’t do. Luckily, Eliza had a plan.

She found something that would work in the kitchen. Taking up a position on the window sill, Eliza held a jar of jelly beans in her left hand and picked one out with her right. 

Eliza tossed the first jelly bean. It landed on Jacob’s back. Bad aim.

The second landed on his arm.

The third landed on his cheek near his nose. He jerked onto his back and kept snoring.

She stood up and walked to the foot of the bed. This was a much better angle. Aiming carefully, Eliza tried to land a jelly bean in his mouth. She hit every part of his face _except_ his mouth. Cheek, nose, ear, both eyes, forehead, chin. The sensation must’ve been enough to wake him. After a minute of being lightly pelted with jelly beans, Jacob startled and opened his eyes. At that moment…

Eliza hit her target.

“Arfgh! What?” 

“Sup.”

Jacob swallowed and looked down at his chest in bewilderment. Colorful jelly beans lay scattered all over. “Were you hitting me with _jellybeans_?”

“Plan B was dousing you in water from the hose outside.”

“You could’ve woken me with a gentle shake like a normal person?”

Eliza hummed. “That was Plan L.” Jacob stared at her. This was too much fun. “L for Lupine. Or lemonade. Or canis lupis.”

Jacob fell out of bed. “What?”

“Hey, do you have any cookies? I’m hungry.”

“Hang on –”

“Growing wolf, I mean girl, you know, gotta eat.”

Eliza walked out to the kitchen. She really did want cookies. Jacob scrambled after her. “Bella!”

“Do you think cookies travel in packs?”

“That doesn’t make any sense –”

Eliza found the cookies. Grabbing one and taking a bite, she looked around the kitchen some more. “Dude these are so good, I should howl Charlie and tell him.”

“What?” Jacob was completely bewildered. It was amazing. “You’re being really –”

Lightning fast, Eliza took a spatula and used the end to push Jacob’s lip up. “My what big teeth you have!”

“Bella!” Jacob swatted the spatula away. Eliza innocently took a seat at the table and motioned for Jacob to sit beside her. He grabbed the package of cookies first and put it between them.

Eliza bit into her cookie again, watching him. “Am I being subtle?”

“Not at all,” Jacob eyed her warily. “I can’t decide if you know, or if you’re just weird.”

“Both, definitely both.”

Jacob rolled his eyes and took two cookies with one hand, biting into them at the same time. She looked him over. His hair was cut short, messy and done by hand. His tall frame was now accentuated by muscle he’d lacked before. But his face still held a boyish roundness to it.

“I thought you would…”

“Freak out more?” Jacob finished. Eliza nodded. “Trust me, I am. Major panic on the inside, but I’m trying to, you know, keep it together.

Eliza looked down at the rapidly depleted box of cookies before them. “Eating as a coping mechanism, I can relate.”

Jacob sat back. “Yeah? Prove it.”

Eliza stretched and folded her arms behind her. “My record is 19 chicken McNugs in one sitting.”

Jacob’s eyebrows raised. “That’s impressive for a…”

“Don’t say it.”

“…human.” Jacob finished with a grin.

Eliza glared. “I’ll have you know I am quite the physical specimen. Adonis in the flesh.” She pulled her sleeve back and flexed.

Jacob’s eyes widened. “I stand corrected.” Cautiously, he lifted a hand. Eliza expected a fist-bump or something cool. He flicked her bicep.

“Ow!”

“ _Ow!_ ” Jacob mocked with a laugh. “Adonis maybe, but still human.”

Enough of this. Eliza punched him on the arm.

“Ow!” Jacob grabbed his arm where she hit him, rubbing it and frowning.

“Don’t patronize me Mr. Not Human.”

“No, I swear that actually hurt.” 

“Wimp.”

Jacob chuckled and leaned forward on the table (the cookies were now entirely gone, seriously, _where_ did they go) and looked hard at her. “That aside… somehow you know I turn into a giant wolf. I think I deserve some answers. Who are you?”

Eliza stared back. “I hail from a completely different world. I’m not Bella Swan, not really. Where I come from, everything you know as real is a story to me. And now I’m here, as Bella and not me, but I’m still me.”

“And that is?”

“Bond,” she spoke in accent and held out her hand. “James Bond.” Jacob smirked shook her hand. “Eliza.”

“That sounds more like it. Although you could be lying right now, and I wouldn’t know the difference.” He got up and walked to the pantry.

“Can’t you smell that, or something? Lies?” Jacob stared at her. “Don’t give me that look, isn’t that a canine thing?”

He rolled his eyes. “Is ultra-smart-ass your world’s thing?”

“I feel attacked.”

Jacob returned to his seat wielding a brand-new package of cookies. “We’ll need these, I think?”

Eliza smiled. Bronding.

 

If someone walked into the Black house not long after, there would be cause for concern. Eliza and Jacob were sprawled on their backs. Jacob clutched an empty cookie box in his hand, and lining up his shot, launched it through the air at the trash can. He missed, and that box joined two other empty cookie boxes on the floor by his target.

“I can’t believe I missed every time.”

“ _I_ can’t believe you missed every time.”

Jacob groaned. “It’s the cookies, man. They’re throwing me off balance.”

“I had better aim with _jelly beans_. More skill.”

“Bigger target.” 

“Lame excuse.” Eliza laboriously picked herself up off the ground. “Ugh. Five cookies too many for me.”

Jacob propped himself up with arms crossed behind his head. “You know what’s lame? You keeping your cosmic origins a secret from me.”

“Dude,” Eliza said. “A week. No, I kept it from you for mere days.”

“Yeah. That hurts man,” Jacob said.

“Well I’m sorry I hurt you.” Eliza patted him on the head. “I’d say you got me back.”

Jacob grinned. “I figured you couldn’t say no to a cookie eating challenge.”

“Regretfully, no.”

Jacob laughed, stretching as he stood. He possessed an unnatural surety of movement. The difference between Eliza’s grace and balance (which she thought was pretty good) and that of Jacob or the Cullens was unbelievably stark.  

“Wish I had a metabolism like yours. Probably burned those calories just by breathing.” Eliza said mournfully, tapping her abdomen.

“Do you even work out bro?”

Eliza glared and flexed again. “If you weren’t a supernatural wolf, I would kick your ass.”

Jacob laughed again. “I have no doubt about it. How do you train?”

“Boxing, weight training. I play soccer and golf too! Actually, I can play most every sport.”

“Even polo?”

Eliza nodded. “I had a preppy phase.”

Jacob nodded. “That’s sick. We should train together sometime. I can’t exactly let anyone else spot me while benching hundreds of pounds.” He began walking to the door. “That would be hard to explain. Come on, I can show you my –”

“Den?”

“Yes,” Jacob finished with a sigh. “My den.” Eliza laughed and let Jacob lead her to the old garage.

The gentle whir of a generator, and warm lights flickered on. A few small, high windows added natural light. An old couch and a few chairs were the seating arrangements. A large empty spot and a tool bench designated the spot where Jacob worked on machinery. A workout area with old exercise equipment filled the rest of the space.

She spied what looked like a salmon ladder in the back and grinned. _Nice_.

“It’s not much, but I can sort of. Get away from everything in here. I’m not the descendant of Ephraim Black, not anything. I’m just me.” Jacob’s perfect posture was gone. He looked and sounded like a tired teenage boy. “Having you know about this… it’s actually really nice.”

Eliza nodded. “Same here. Thanks Jacob.”

Jacob smiled. “Thank you, too.”

Eliza spun around. “This place is awesome.” Then she had a brilliant idea. “We should totally have Misfit Nights.”

“Misfit nights?”

“Misfit Nights! That’s what we are, aren’t we? The King and Queen Misfit? Neither of us fit the natural order of things here. Even less than the Cullens.”

At the mention of the vampires, Jacob’s face shifted to confusion. “The Cullens, right.”

Oops.

Eliza took a cautious step toward him. “How do you feel? Super angry? Any inclination to enter a fit of rage?”

Jacob looked at her, even more confused. “Angry? Why?” He clenched his jaw and looked to be thinking hard. “My dad, the council. Telling me I need to be ready to take them out, that it’s my duty or some bullshit like that. They say the Cullens are my enemies but… that just doesn’t seem fair. I don’t know them.”

He sat down on the couch, leaning on his forearms. Jacob gazed up at her, and the only thought that came to her mind was how _scared_ Jacob looked. “They’re not bad, right? You’re friends with them. What are they like?”

It was then Eliza processed how big a difference this was from Meyer’s Twilight. As soon as those wolves shifted, they became angry, macho egos who went grumbling on about duty and archaic beliefs.

This… this was real. Jacob was just a boy, scared and young, being asked to become what he was not. But Jacob could be so much more. This might be her only chance to help.

Eliza plopped herself down next to him and held his anxious stare with her own calm one. “Alice, Jasper, Edward, Emmett,” Eliza took a deep breath, “Rosalie. Then Mr. and Mrs. Carlisle and Esme Cullen. They’re weird. Like. Really weird.” Jacob sniffed. “But what can you expect, they’re literally out of their time.”

She chuckled to herself and tried to think of how Jacob could relate to the vampires. “They’re fun though. Emmett can amuse himself for far too long with free trial games on his cell phone. Jasper likes to reminisce about going everywhere on horseback. I’m pretty sure Edward writes emo poetry during his free time.”

Jacob laughed out loud. “They sound pretty cool.”

“They’re a family, and more like us than you’d think. Vampire part aside, of course.”

Jacob cocked his head. “Do you think they’re dangerous?”

“They’re predators, same are you.” She paused. “They don’t pose a threat to people in Forks or La Push. Vegetarian and all that.”

“Vegetarian?”

Eliza grinned. “They hunt animals, not humans.”

“Wider menu, I suppose.”

“I guess it makes a happier life than traditional vampire nutrition would.” She smiled at him. “The Cullens wouldn’t be here if they thought it wasn’t safe for them or humans.”

Jacob nodded, and took a deep breath. “I might actually like them. Except for the smell. It’s on you, and gross.” Eliza rolled her eyes. “Natural response, not my fault!”

“If you ever want to meet a live one, I can drag one to the treaty line with me.” 

“I’d pay money to see you try. And how do you know about that?”

Eliza smiled mysteriously. “I can tell you everything I know next time we hang out. Speaking of hanging out!” She almost forgot. “I recently acquired a motorcycle.” The words sent a shot of electricity through her. She had a _motorcycle_.

“No shit! A motorcycle?! How did you get that past Charlie?”

“He let me live on the condition I have you fix it up and pay you in pizza.”

Jacob rubbed his chin. “All I can eat pizza that you have to pay for. That’ll be, like. Three pizzas all for myself. Probably won’t be any left for you.”

“Hey!”

“We have a deal!” Jacob held his hand out. Eliza growled and shook it.

Jacob let go but looked at her closely. “Seriously though, how did you convince Charlie to let you keep it?”

An excellent question. There hadn’t been much of a fight. Minimal negotiation. While this Charlie was not the exact same as Twilight Charlie, it was hard to believe he gave in so easily.

“I dunno. Change of heart?” She laughed humorlessly. “Can you imagine if he found out I go to school with vampires? He’d pull me in an instant.”

“Motorcycles would seem completely safe in comparison,” Jacob pointed out.

“True.”

A buzz announced a text from Charlie: the game was over.

“Speaking of, time to hold up my end of our compromise and let Charlie buy me a helmet.”

“It’s probably gonna have lots of padding. Maybe flashing lights so everyone can see you coming. Like his car.”

“Shut up,” Eliza laughed. “I have an aesthetic. He’ll understand.”

Jacob just snorted. “Let’s get the thing in here so I can look at it.”

Eliza nodded and walked outside. “Eliza?” Jacob jogged out to catch up with her. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

Jacob smiled shyly. “For being my friend.”

She lightly punched him on the arm. “I’m not afraid of the big bad wolf.” Jacob rolled his eyes. “Really though, same here.”

Jacob smiled.  “No problem.”

The two friends unloaded the motorcycle – Jacob did, he grabbed it before Eliza had the chance to help – into Jacob’s garage. They parted ways with a bro hug and promises to train sometime soon.

Eliza followed her path back to Harry’s house, where Charlie was getting into his cruiser. “Let’s go buy a super stylish helmet, Scrapper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic, we will protect Jacob and what he could have been.
> 
> Also, remember: this is a slow burn! I didn't want to just throw Rosalie and Eliza together. I want this to feel as real and natural as possible. There will be progress on that front sooner rather than later.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'll be back soon.


	12. Rescue Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This semester has rekt me, but I'm still here! This is actually the first half of a 15,000 word update. Thank my amazing sister ClaraKeanen for giving me the kick I needed! *Shameless plug for ClaraKeanen's dope work*
> 
> Thanks for your patience with my terrible update schedule, and for letting me take the time I feel I need to develop the story.
> 
> Also - I got some great feedback after my last update, and will be making a few minor changes to what I've written thus far. I'll clue you in to that soon.
> 
> Enjoy!

“You’ll cause trouble in that thing,” Charlie grumbled.

The motorcycle helmet on Eliza’s head muffled her response. She pulled the helmet off and placed it back on the shelf. “Who, me? Cause trouble?”

“You,” Charlie pointed. “Makes you look like one of those young punks I’ll chase around all day, and then go home complaining about to my kids. Oh, wait –”

“Shut up,” Eliza laughed. “I look cool and you know it.”

“I never said you didn’t look cool, did I? Here, try this one.” Charlie handed her another.

Every helmet Eliza tried was black or gray. Charlie gave a convincing speech for neon, but Eliza stood firm against it.

“Not visible enough,” Charlie mumbled after walking back and forth to check out the latest helmet from a range of distances.

Eliza groaned. “Seriously dude, we’re going to have to pick one.”

Charlie crossed his arms. “I think the bright yellow one is the best choice.”

“I already told you, I don’t need that kind of attention. Plus, I’d have to worry about my clothes and shoes matching the helmet.”

“Who cares if your clothes and shoes match your _motorcycle helmet_?”

Eliza looked over her shoulder. “Someone small, sneaky, and incredibly invested in matching colors.”

Charlie shook his head. “Whatever you say.” He looked at their options again, ignoring the helmets that didn’t cover the entire face. “Now this… this might be the one.” He picked up a matte black helmet with attractive aesthetic design. Sleek, molded, full visor.

“It looks like a lightcycle helmet out of Tron! That’s super cool.”

“This here is reflective.” Charlie pointed out dual lines of reflective material running from the top of the visor all the way down to the bottom back of the helmet.

“I fight for the users!”

Charlie snorted. “The visor itself is outlined with a reflective strip, too. This’ll be nice if you’re ever riding in poor conditions or at night and people have their headlights on.” He looked sharply at her. “Which you won’t be for a _long_ time.”

“Of course not.”

Charlie eyed her before putting the helmet on her head, muffling an indignant ‘hey’ from Eliza. “How’s it fit?” Eliza moved her head around, shook it, and jogged in place. “Dork.”

Eliza pulled the helmet off. “Fits perfectly,” she grinned.

Charlie nodded, took the helmet, and began walking away.

“How much is it?”

“Dunno. Doesn’t matter though, I want you safe.”

“Well,” Eliza sighed. She hadn’t thought about this. “Can I owe you?” Her funds were, at the moment, a solid zero dollars.

Charlie shook his head and proceeded to pay. Eliza knew she’d have to get used to him paying for things. She was, after all, his Bella.

Walking out to their cars Charlie tossed her the helmet. “You have your motorcycle license, right?”

Her eyes went wide. Oh shit. What if she didn’t? Where was her wallet? Did she have a wallet? Did she even have a _car_ license? Think fast, think fast. “Uh… yeah…” Damn it. Eliza. “I’ll show you at home!” Charlie gave her a thumbs up and got in his cruiser.

Eliza sat down in her truck and stared straight ahead. How. How did she not think of these essential things? Things essential to her survival here? If she didn’t have a license, she couldn’t just go take the test again. Charlie would know something was wrong.

After a minute of worrying, she followed after Charlie. He was out of sight by the time she got to the first stoplight on her way home, so he didn’t see what happened next.

A suspiciously familiar Jeep screeched to a stop at the intersection.

Gray.

Tinted windows.

Obnoxious extra lighting racks on top.

Check all three boxes for Emmett Cullen. It _had_ to be him.

He floored it the exact millisecond the light began turning green, because he was out of that intersection and heading north so quickly that she almost missed it.

Emmett seemed hurried, to put it lightly. She tried not to worry – it wasn’t any of her business.

Eliza planned to turn her room upside down to find that wallet as soon as possible. When she walked in the front door, she caught a small, unidentified flying object thrown her way by Charlie. In her hand was a worn, brown leather billfold. How very Bella.

“Found it on your desk! You must’a forgot it this morning.” Charlie ambled away without another word.

Opening the billfold she found $20, a brand new credit card, and an Arizona license. The picture was of her, but not one she remembered taking. On the back was her active motorcycle endorsement. Dope.

Right then Charlie reentered the kitchen. “Hey, uh, one more thing you’re doing for me to make up for the motorcycle thing.”

Eliza narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What can I do for you?”

 “Your turn to buy dinner.”

Thank you, Bella Swan’s cash.

 

 

The toaster popped up her third waffle of the morning. 

“You’re hammering through those waffles like there’s no tomorrow. Gonna have to go shopping again this week if you don’t slow down.” Eliza kept eating, too hungry to bother with an answer. Charlie waved goodbye as he left. “Have a good Monday, Scrapper. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Mmhm!” Eliza waved her fork.

Waffles made Eliza very happy. But she still felt off… like there was something she was forgetting to worry about. She had no reason to be unhappy. It was, after all, a Monday, making it a Rosalie day! Plus, her motorcycle was real, she and Jacob were now good buds, and –

Wait. Her phone! Eliza dashed back upstairs to grab it off her desk. The reason she kept leaving it places was probably because it didn’t _feel_ like a phone. She caught herself swiping a touchscreen that wasn't there every day.

Eliza sat at the kitchen table again, phone in one hand and forked waffle in the other. Putting another bite in her mouth she unlocked the phone to find several new messages from Alice. The first was from 10:58pm the night before, the others at sporadic times throughout the night and early morning. 

(10:58pm) _‘This is exciting! I don’t have to hide the fact that I’m awake at all hours of the night!’_

(11:22pm) _‘I’m on my third painting this hour, are you proud of me?’_

(12:06am) _‘I cannot wait to see you in that dress.’_

(2:39am) _‘How patient are you?’_

(3:14am) _‘Don’t worry about it, but do you have a propensity to panic?’_

(4:25:am) _‘It’s fine, everything is fine!’_

The last one was sent at 5:47am.

_‘I’ll see you at 7:12am’_

Eliza paused. Huh? She glanced at the time. 7:12am. Running to the door, she threw it open and found Emmett’s gray Jeep in the driveway. 

Alright then. Time for school?

Eliza grabbed her bag and a jacket, pausing briefly to lock the door before bounding up to the Jeep and climbing in the passenger seat. Alice reversed out of the driveway right when the door slammed shut.

“Help! A human!”

Eliza laughed. “Hey no panicking, eyes on the road!”

“Of course, precious cargo,” Alice patted Eliza’s thigh. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a log. Today is gonna be a good day.” 

Alice grimaced. “Oh! Neat.”

“What do you mean? Hey, what were your last texts about? I just saw them –”

“Nothing to worry about!” Alice rushed. “Just some family drama. Say, where were you yesterday? I couldn’t see you.”

Eliza frowned. Why would that be? “You mean you couldn’t see my future?” Alice shook her head. “That’s mildly concerning. Maybe I’m dying.” 

“Ah yes,” Alice added, “probably. How tragic. Death by fishing.”

“Fishing is a dangerous pastime.”

“I know.” They looked at each other and Alice giggled. “I fished with my dad and his friends and then I hung out with my buddy Jacob for a bit, that’s all.”

Alice was silent for a moment. “How old is Jacob?”

“Sixteen.”

“Nothing for her to worry about,” Alice mumbled quietly enough that Eliza didn't hear.

“He’s also a werewolf.”

The Jeep swerved. “Eliza! Werewolves are not good company to keep!”

Eliza tilted her head toward Alice. “Vampire.” Alice narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “I know from the story that you guys don’t like each other.”

“They started it.” 

“Well, okay, that’s up for debate but. Let me finish! It’s happening differently this time. Jacob is the only one right now. And he’s not angry. He’d like to give you the benefit of the doubt.” 

“How kind of him.”

Eliza huffed. “You know what I mean.”

“But they smell bad!”

Jasper stood waiting for them next to the spot Alice parked in. As soon as she switched the Jeep off, he opened the door and grabbed her hand. “Somethin’ wrong?” 

“Eliza’s hanging out with werewolves and I don’t like it.” 

Jasper smiled widely at her before addressing Eliza. “Might I implore you to consider Alice’s distress next time you plan to consort with werewolves?”

“I will, my good man.”

Jasper stepped back for Alice to exit the Jeep. Eliza left as well and rounded it to find Alice strutting into the school, nose in the air and arms crossed. Jasper watched her but waited for Eliza.

She elbowed him. It was like elbowing a wall. Boy, he’s stiff. “I really won’t mind if you want to follow her.”

Jasper smiled. “She’s only giving you a hard time. I want to talk to you.” He began a slow walk into the school. “It’s partly related to your newfound friendship with this werewolf.”

“Jacob Black.”

“Right, Jacob.” He grimaced. “I trust you. But he is always going to be a threat.” Eliza’s smile fell but she nodded, because Jasper was probably right. “Alice can't see past him but as long as he leaves us alone there won’t be a problem. It also got me thinking.”

“What about?” 

He hesitated. “Are there any… threats? We should know about?” 

“You mean from the story.” What Twilight knowledge could she trust? “I don’t know what to expect here, things are different from that story.” 

Jasper nodded with hard eyes. “Eliza, if there’s a threat to my family, I need to know.”

“I will tell you if I think of any,” she assured him.

He nodded. “Thank you. _Now_ I’ll go after Alice.”

Jasper entered the school. Eliza followed but turned back to the parking lot before going in. Edward’s Volvo was parked nearby Emmett’s Jeep, but Rosalie’s convertible wasn’t there. Maybe Rosalie drove with Edward today. She couldn’t decide what made her more nervous: seeing Rosalie after their… experience, in the garage on Saturday; or school with Edward.

 

Eliza sat in her fourth period, sulking. Today was not a good day.

The Cullens left school in the middle of first period, mere minutes before the sun came out. How they swung that deal she didn’t know, but it made her mood fall. It wasn't easy but she did her best to be friendly with the humans. Well, at least to Angela.

When history was over she ignored the temptation to check the parking lot for Rosalie’s convertible – again. Any Cullen car would lift her spirits. But it was pointless to check. Rosalie wouldn’t show up now with the sun out. 

Walking to the lunchroom, her phone buzzed with Alice’s name on the screen.

_‘Eliza my dear! Care to meet us underneath the big pine outside the lunchroom?’_

She ducked out the main doors to avoid students at lunch and went around the side of the building.

A few dozen feet into the trees stood a massive, old pine. Beneath it sat Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and – Edward. Sunlight barely filtered through through the canopy, giving their skin a pale glow. All four wore clothing that covered most of their skin. 

Alice greeted Eliza with a speedy hug. “Sorry we left. It’s best we make appearances on sunny days every so often to keep suspicion down.”

“How do people not notice?” Eliza asked. Emmett and Jasper chuckled. 

“Humans believe what they want to believe where we are concerned,” Jasper winked.

“The excuses they create in their minds might surprise you,” Edward added quietly. He was sitting so his body faced away from her, his head turned to the side and twisted in a frown. 

“I’m not surprised,” Eliza eyed him warily. At least he wasn’t mid-tantrum. 

 “Is Eddie bothering you?” Emmett asked. “We told him to stay home.”

Edward hissed. “You speak as though I’m actively threatening her.” 

“Duh. Did you forget Saturday?”

“That was. Different. I’m working on it.” Edward looked at her over his shoulder. “I apologize for my detestable behavior on Saturday. We endanger you by engaging at all, myself especially. It would be best if we left you alone.” Alice huffed. “But I respect my family’s wishes to stay,” Edward continued. “I promise to work harder on my control.”

“It’s true, he’s been practicing,” Alice said to Eliza. “With the scarves you wear to make me happy.” 

Eliza’s frown twisted to a small smile. “You say that like it’s hard for me.” 

“Sweet-talker,” Alice winked. 

“I’ll know if his control is slipping,” Jasper said. “We won't let it be a problem.”

Eliza nodded at him and looked into Edward’s dark eyes. There was no animal, just Edward. He words was genuine, even if stuffy. “It would be nice to get to know you too.  Especially since Alice and I are soul friends, and your bros and I are bros.” 

Emmett laughed and Jasper sported a grin. Alice crawled over to Eliza and sat close to her side.

“I would like that, too.” 

Progress.

Eliza’s gaze drifted to a patch of sun streaming down through the trees. The golden light was like Rosalie’s hair. Rosalie.

“Is something wrong?” Alice asked. 

“You don’t feel well,” Jasper murmured. 

Eliza nodded. “I dunno, I feel off. There’s no real reason for it. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Then the Cullens began one of _those_ conversations. One too quiet for humans to hear. “Come on guys, I know you’re talking about me. What’s going on?” They all looked uncomfortable… or as uncomfortable as a vampire can look.

“Well maybe she’s feeling off because –” Edward glared at him. Emmett swallowed and looked back at Eliza. “Rose –”

“Emmett!” Alice facepalmed.

“Rosalie? What about her?” Curse how quickly she perked up at the name.

“It’s not our place,” Edward said slowly. 

Emmett growled. “Come on Eddie, you always know everything and share when it suits you. It’s only fair.”

“Eliza is feeling something. We can’t ignore that,” Jasper said.

Edward looked at Alice. “You really think that?” 

“Wait, what’d I miss?” Eliza cut in.

Emmett snorted. “Get used to it bro.” 

Alice kept going. “I tried to stop this from happening in the first place, dear brother.” 

 “I love you but sometimes your meddling doesn’t help, dear sister.”

“Hey!” Eliza put an arm around Alice’s shoulders. “Be nice.” 

“Fight – fight – fight – fight!” Emmett chanted.

“Thank you for rushing to defend my honor,” Alice smiled. “Let’s keep this verbal for the sake of our human, shall we?” Edward nodded. 

Jasper cleared his throat. “Tellin’ her a little bit won’t be dangerous.”

Edward winced. “ _You’re_ not the one Rosalie is fond of throwing through a wall when she’s upset.”

“Or bored,” Emmett added.

Eliza tried not to smile. “Jasper, you said something about my feelings. Is this about me?”

 “Yes! I knew it, I knew this would happen,” Alice looked pointedly at Edward.

“This is complicated, you’re complicated, Rosalie’s complicated,” Emmett listed off. “Everything’s complicated bro.”

“How incredibly helpful Emmett, thank you.” Edward caught the rock Emmett threw at him.

“Guys,” Eliza pleaded. “Come on. You can’t not tell me now. You gotta give me something.”

Emmett leaned forward and place a. A pinecone? In her hand, and closed her fingers around it. “Here you go,” he said seriously.

Eliza laughed and threw it back at him. The others started another secret conversation. Vampires and their stupid vampire secrets. Emmett gave a loud sigh and flopped down on his back. Eliza felt the ground tremble.

“Can you at least give me a hint?” 

Alice and Edward stopped, looked at her, and back at each other. Then Edward smiled, and Alice smiled, and Jasper smiled, and Emmett sat up looking confused. “What? What did we decide?”

“A hint is in order,” Jasper said. 

“There’s nothing in the rules about giving a harmless hint,” Alice smirked.

Eliza cocked her head. “Rules?” 

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Our apologies, Eliza. We had to consider how binding Rosalie’s rules are, and the level of danger in breaking one. But as my lovely Alice pointed out,” his eyes glinted when he grinned, “she said nothing about a hint.”

Alice paused and looked at each of her siblings for dramatic effect, before holding Eliza with a serious stare.  “Rosalie left to figure some things out.”

Eliza blinked. “That’s it? That’s the hint? She left to figure things out? And this has to do with me?” The idea made her heart hurt.

Alice sighed. “I know it doesn’t make sense. As much as I want to tell you, we can’t. I will say that Rosalie left because she’s really not good with… stuff like this.”

“Like this?”

“You know, crushes and things.”

“Wait!” Eliza yelled. “Rosalie knows about my crush?”

Emmett scratched the back of his head.  “Uh, well, maybe? But that’s not what –” he looked at Alice as he finished. “Never mind.”

Alice grabbed Eliza’s hand. “I don’t know when, but Rosalie will be back, and everything will be better.”

Eliza dropped her head. Rosalie was gone, and it was her fault.

“You’re wrong, Eliza.” Jasper smiled at her.

“You sure about that?”

Jasper shook his head. “Yes ma’am. This is a difficult situation. That’s all.” 

Edward watched her, eyebrows furrowed. “What are you thinking?”

“That’s right, you can’t read me.”

Edward frowned. “I’m… sorry. For being so direct. Not knowing a person’s thoughts is new to me. I’m curious, is all.”

“Nosy, is more like it,” Emmett whispered. That earned him a pine cone to the face. 

Alice shuddered, like a sleeping person waking up from a nightmare. “I can’t see what will happen.”

“Alice?” Jasper asked.

“It’s what I don’t see that’s the problem,” she said. 

“You can’t see my future?”

Alice bit her lip. “Not always. I can see the outcome of most of your decisions – but it’s fuzzy. I went looking because _reasons_ ,” she stressed, “but right now I can’t see much of anything beyond today. It’s like you’re on a different frequency.”

“We’re flying blind,” Edward mused.

“ _Inter-dimensional space traveler_ ,” Emmett whispered. 

Jasper leaned toward Eliza. “This isn’t good. If there’s anything we should know about the future, please tell us.”

Eliza rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what will or won’t happen anymore. I only read one book and it hasn't all been right.”

“Would you mind telling us what you read?” Edward asked. 

Eliza thought back. “Three nomadic vampires find you playing baseball. One of them decides to hunt Bella. He tracks her to Phoenix, tricks her into giving herself up, and nearly kills her before you all stop him.” 

All four vampires were stone. 

“Guys? Did I say something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Jasper murmured. He looked at her with a sharp gaze. “We’ve already met them.”

“He came for me not long after we moved here,” Alice said slowly. “James. To finish his hunt.”

“Bastard,” Emmett muttered. 

“The other two followed and protected him. We thought the girl, Victoria, might’ve been his mate.”

“Was the other Laurent?” Eliza asked.

“Yes. James and Laurent tried to ambush Alice,” Jasper said darkly. “They were cocky. Didn’t know she would see it coming, but also didn’t expect Rosalie and I to be close.”

Alice shivered. “Two against three. You could say we ended them pretty quickly.”

Eliza eyed all the Cullens. They looked uncomfortable. “Victora. Have you seen her since?”

Edward shook his head. “No. We looked for a while, but she had enough of a head start that it was no use tracking her.”

“Do you watch her decisions?” Eliza turned to Alice, who was holding Jasper’s hand. 

Alice shook her head. “I did for a while, but she had no plans to come back. 

Eliza thought on that. This made her a little nervous. “Are you worried she’ll be a problem?” They looked at each other, before shaking their heads. 

“I doubt it,” Jasper said. “She would be foolish to challenge us, with our number.”

“Don’t worry about it bud,” Emmett cracked his knuckles. “If something bad comes I’ll take care of you.”

“Uh, get in line!” Alice said. 

“I think Eliza would kick their ass first,” Jasper smirked.

Alice giggled. “Really Eliza, don’t worry. She’s not a problem.” 

Emmett raised his hand. “Question. Should we tell Rose?”

“No!” Alice and Edward said together.

He didn’t back down. “Are you sure?”

_“No!”_ They repeated.

“Why is telling Rose bad?” Emmett asked. 

“Rosalie doesn’t want to be bothered,” Alice said. “She needs the space. And she isn’t in a place to deal with what this means yet.”

“What is this?” Eliza asked.

“Don’t worry about it!” Emmett winked.

The school bell sounded. Eliza groaned.

“Back to jail for you.”

“Ugh. And I didn’t eat. This is gonna be a fun afternoon.”

Emmett snickered while Eliza stood and stretched. “Humans and their dumb eating needs. So much work for so little reward.”

“Clearly, you’ve forgotten what good steak taste like.” 

Alice rose and hugged Eliza. "Don't worry about a thing, Eliza. Just take care of yourself.” 

Edward retreated from them, looking away. “I’m sorry, I should go.” He disappeared into the trees.

“Round of applause for Eddie, making it through lunch!”  Emmett cheered.

Eliza waved to them, backing away. “Have a nice day, you lucky punks!” 

Walking in sunlight away from the Cullens, everything felt darker. 

 

 

Tuesday.

No Rosalie.

Alice, for her part, was doing everything in her power to distract Eliza. Alice herself or another Cullen was conveniently there during all of her free time. She caught on to their strategy right away, and didn't mind at all. The distractions helped.

The atmosphere of Biology was… tense… with Edward’s bloodlust, her discomfort, and no other Cullen in class to run interference. While he sat as far away from her as he could, they made small-talk. She learned that his favorite music was classical. He learned that she ate a record 19 McNuggets in one sitting without getting sick. Baby steps.

Hanging with Jasper was surprisingly fun. They caught time during history and after school to talk quietly. His presence was comforting. No more than a look and Eliza knew he understood what she was feeling, even if she didn’t. And while he remained stiff even for a vampire, he was in good control of his thirst. 

They talked about everything from history to his interest in horse-racing and her adventures on her grandparents’ farm. 

“I assume you know my story?” Jasper drawled quietly.

“Uh. Vampire wars?” Eliza whispered. “But you escaped and found Alice!”

“That sums it up,” he grinned. Jasper smiled a lot when talking about Alice. “But did you know that I happen to be the greatest chess-playing vampire this side of the Atlantic?”

             

 

Wednesday.

No Rosalie.

Jasper brought his chess board and they spent lunch in the library playing. It was quite the experience.

“Your pawn can’t move four spaces right, Eliza.” 

“Why not? I’m trying to think like one.” Eliza rubbed her hands together and bent down to pawn-level, eyeing the board closely. “If I was in this dude’s place, I would be doing evasive maneuvers to avoid your knight.”

Jasper bent down too, trying to catch her eye. “Pawns can’t perform evasive maneuvers,” he shook his head. “They take hits for more important pieces.”  

“If they try hard enough, they can do both.”

“…No.”

“Be the pawn, Jasper.”

Jasper laughed out loud, clutching his stomach like he was still human and it hurt. Emmett and Alice found them like that, chuckling at Eliza’s attempts to rewrite the rules of chess.

 

 

Thursday.

No Rosalie.

Eliza rose with the sun. The _sun_. Which meant the Cullens had to stay away. And sure enough, she received an apology text from Alice that second. Two sunny days in one week? In Forks nearly unheard of. But of course, this week of all weeks, it happened. 

With no Cullens at school Eliza had no easy distractions. She did her best to be better. Eliza spent the day trying to best present and friendly with the humans in school. Her thoughts wandered to family a lot.

That afternoon Eliza did her homework in one sitting. She didn’t remember a thing she wrote or read, but at least it was done and occupied her mind for a short while. 

Her phone rang with a call from Charlie to save her from reading ahead in history.

_‘Hey Bells. Want to meet me at Billy’s place? It’s such a nice night. They’re grilling, and we’re invited!’_  

Eliza didn’t feel like going anywhere. But she desperately didn’t want to sit all night with her thoughts. “That sounds awesome. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Great.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll see you soon.” 

Eliza considered telling Alice where she was going, but elected not too. Alice said she didn’t always see her clearly anyway, which meant there would be no panic if she went off-radar for a time.

When she arrived in the Black kitchen, Charlie was already there.

“Bella! I’m glad you could make it!” Billy greeted.

“Me too, Billy. Thank you so much for the invite!”

“You know you’re always welcome. Unlike this interloper,” he jerked his thumb at Charlie.

“Burger or hot dog?”

“Cheeseburger?” Eliza asked hopefully.

“Done,” Billy smiled. “Jake’s out there working if you want to join him. Food will be ready in a little while.”

Eliza announced her arrival to Jacob a minute later with a boisterous “dude!”

Jacob merely waved his hand from where he sat on the ground by her motorcycle. “I heard you turn on the road a few minutes ago.”

“What.”

“Yeah,” he looked up and grinned. “No element of surprise anymore, human.”

“Stupid wolf ears,” Eliza mumbled walking to him. Ruffling his hair, she plopped herself down on the ground nearby. “Thank you again for helping out with the motorcycle.”

He smiled. “You really don’t need to thank me. This one's fun to fix up. It’s been a great distraction.”

Eliza watched Jacob carefully; his grip on the wrench in his hand was too tight. He was tensing his jaw, not at all relaxed. “Jacob, is something wrong?” 

Jacob kept working. “Nah.”

“Great job, you didn’t convince me at all.”

He sighed deeply, visibly deflating. “The council told me others are going to shift like I did. They said I’ll have to be their leader.”  

Eliza was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say. She was no therapist. And she was certainly not a shifter of any kind. There was little she could do to help. “That bothers you? More wolves shifting?”

He nodded. “I’m not cut out for leading, Eliza.”

Eliza sighed. “What makes you say that?”

Jacob threw his head back. “All I really wanna do is eat lots of food and fix up old cars.”

“Understandable.”

“I know I'm playing an important role in the history of my people. At the same time –”

“You don't want to?”

“Exactly!” Jacob threw a hand up. “Thank you! Someone gets it.”

Eliza smiled. “Being an alpha wolf doesn’t mean you have to stop binge eating and fixing up old cars.” Jacob looked unconvinced. “Part of being leader is delegating tasks to your underlings, thus leaving more time for you to eat food and fix old cars.”

Jacob laughed. “That would go over well.” His smile fell, looking out toward the reservation. “I don’t want this for anyone else,” he said quietly.

“It makes you that unhappy?”

He shrugged. “Yes and no. Being a wolf is kind of cool. But I have to lie a lot, which doesn’t feel good. And I’m not sure what future I can have anymore.”

Eliza swallowed. That did sound really, really sad. “Well. Maybe you can help the others and yourself make the most of it.”

“How?”

“Mandatory pizza feasts at least twice a week.”

Jacob snorted. “And I assume you’ll want to be invited?”

“Duh.” 

A smile stretched across his face. “Thanks, Eliza.” Jacob went back to work on the motorcycle. 

Eliza stood and walked back to where Jacob kept his exercise equipment. “Mind if I get in some work on your punching bag?”

Jacob pointed to the corner of the shed without looking up. “Hand wrap and gloves in the corner.”

Hands wrapped, gloves on, Eliza squared up to the bag and began a pattern of slow, solid punches.

She wondered, as she punched, if she could have ever gotten Lily into boxing. Her mouth formed a sad smile at the memory of her sister's lack of appreciation for exercise. Damn, Eliza missed her. She punched, and punched, and punched some more, trying to hit the sadness away.

Jacob interrupted her some time later. “You really needed that, didn't you?”

She paused and realized how far she’d pushed herself. Her legs and arms felt like jelly. “Yeah,” Eliza breathed out. “I guess I did.” 

Jacob cupped his hands around his mouth making a trumpeting noise. “Attention, misfits and wolves: I have almost completed repairs on the motorcycle.” 

Eliza’s mood lifted instantly.  “No way! You’re serious?”

“I am!”

Eliza sprang to her feet and ran to lift him in a bear hug. Except she couldn’t lift him, so it was just a hug. “Thank you! You are the best. And – wait a minute…where's our food?” 

Jacob’s eyes narrowed. “It should’ve been ready at least ten minutes ago… let’s check it out.”

Their investigation revealed Billy and Charlie distracted with a hockey game on TV. 

“Really, guys?” Jacob asked.

Charlie glanced their way and did a double-take. “You’re big! What the hell happened?”

Billy jumped to the rescue. “Growth spurt, you know kids these days, always eating and doing. Protein shakes.” He hastily left for the grill calling Charlie after him, who followed while sparing looks at Jacob. 

Eliza snickered. “Yeah Jake, stop with the protein shakes.”

 

 

Friday.

Probably no Rosalie.

Incessant buzzing woke Eliza from a deep, dreamless sleep. She blindly reached for her phone, knocking it off the bedside table instead. She leaned down to grab it and answer, but didn’t bother to sit up and instead hung halfway off her bed.

_‘How come you didn’t tell me it was your birthday?!’_

“Wha… Alice? What are you talking about?” 

Alice gave a strangled yell. _‘It’s your birthday Eliza!’_

Her birthday… not her birthday. And not Bella’s birthday, she was pretty sure. Fine, more like 52.6% sure. “I don’t believe you,” she yawned. Maybe she could steal ten more minutes in bed.

_‘I’m driving you to school today and we’re going to have a talk about this, young lady.’_ Eliza actually growled.  _‘I’ll be there in 34 minutes. Now get downstairs, Charlie made you pancakes.’_ The call barely ended before Eliza was halfway to the kitchen.

Eliza pounding down the stairs must have startled Charlie, because when she arrived, he was staring at the floor… where a pancake lay. “Morning! Uh, sorry about that one.” 

Charlie sniffed. “S’alright. Already made five. That was just really sad to watch.”

“Mmhmm,” Eliza mumbled through a mouthful of the pancake she was already eating.

“It happened in slow motion and everything,” Charlie continued. “Happy Birthday by the way!”

Eliza smiled. “Thank you! Although truth be told, I completely forgot.”

He looked at her like she’d sprouted a pair of wings. “You forgot your birthday?”

Alright then. Wrong thing to say. Eliza stared down at her food and hoped she didn’t look suspicious. “I dunno. Just been a bit distracted.” 

“I guess,” Charlie continued in a shocked voice. “You must be if you forgot your third favorite day of the year, next to National Donut Day and Christmas.”

Eliza laughed, because _of course_ “her” favorite day here was National Donut Day.

“Something funny?” 

“Just laughing at myself. I’m hilarious.”

Charlie shrugged on his coat. “Nerd. It’s chilly out there today so dress warm. I’ll see you tonight, and we’ll celebrate more.”

“Thanks for breakfast!”

“No problem, Scrapper.”

Exactly 34 minutes after their call ended, Alice pulled up to the Swan house. Eliza was not ready, and three minutes later came running out of the house with her backpack slung over one shoulder, coat forgotten. She immediately regretted that in the cool wind. 

“Happy Birthday!” Alice sang when she sat down in the Jeep. 

“Thank you!” Eliza said. 

“You seriously didn’t know today is your birthday?”

“Nope.”

“Curious,” Alice mused.

It _was_ odd that her “birthday” wasn’t Bella’s from Twilight, or hers from her own world. Memories of birthdays from years past ran before her mind’s eye like a movie. Cake and presents, hugs and smiles, friends, family –

“Are you okay?” Alice’s voice brought her back.

Eliza shook herself. “Yeah! I’m fine.”

Alice did not look convinced

“Hey, how do you get Emmett to let you drive his Jeep all the time?”

Alice smiled sweetly. “Because he loves me. And I can be very convincing. Speaking of, Eliza?”

“What’s up?”

“You like us, right? My family?”

“I can’t believe you need to ask. You guys are awesome.”

Alice giggled. “Just checking. We feel the same. It has, in fact, sparked a new debate in our family.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s cute. You see, we all want our Eliza time, but there is only so much of that to go around.”

“How so?”

“Jasper and Edward want to spend more time with you. However, Emmett and I have already called dibs on a lot of your time and we won’t be giving that up. Not only that, Esme and Carlisle both would like to get to know you better. Thus we have a crisis on our hands.” 

“Aw. But why is this a crisis?”

“Our compromise was that we have to share your time. I don’t like sharing.”

“I see. This is you hoping you can sway me into giving you more time?”

Alice smiled. “Come now, would I do such a thing?”

 

At school, Emmett scooped Eliza up into a real bear hug. “Happy Birthday! Uh, Bella!”

Eliza laughed. “Nice save bro.”

Emmett crossed his arms. “None of us knew what to get you for your birthday. You caught us off guard and no stores were open in the middle of the night. But I have still come up with an amazing gift.”

“What’s that?”

“I will let you beat me once at video games.”

Eliza snorted. “Thanks, but I’ll beat you way more than once.”

Emmett grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that. Next time you come over, may the best bro win.” 

 

Much to Alice’s chagrin, she did have to share Eliza at school. Eliza didn’t really mind; the Cullens are a happy distraction.

Charlie came home with dangerously decadent chocolate cake and bought her a pizza _all her own_. They talked. They ate. They drank (chocolate milk, of course). They yelled at sports on TV. Eliza loved every second.

His birthday gift to her was a camera. “You haven’t talked about loving photography, but I want you to have a way to save some of these memories.” Then he pulled her into a hug. “Kids only get to stay this way so long. Make the most of it, and don’t forget.”

She didn’t let Charlie see her cry.

 

Getting into bed that night, drained and exhausted, Alice texted Eliza again. 

_‘Esme and I would like to take you shopping tomorrow to celebrate your birthday. Would you come? Pretty please?’_

She imagined Alice’s little pout, and could not refuse.  _‘I’m down!’_

_‘I knew you would be. We’ll pick you up at 9am tomorrow morning. Have the sweetest dreams, birthday girl!’_

Eliza sighed. Easier said than done.

 

 

Saturday

No Rosalie.

Eliza watched Alice and Esme, secretly loving the scene before her. They couldn’t decide which colored shirt to pick for Eliza. It was of vital importance to immortal beings that one is always wearing a color that provides optimal good utility to all involved. That was what Esme told her, citing utilitarianism and something about Alice’s Rules™. 

It was clear as day to Eliza, that Esme found an unending source of joy in her family. The others could talk about “appearances” all they wanted, but at the end of the day, Esme was definitely their mom. And a wonderful mom she made. Like her own, back home.

“Are you doing okay, dear?” Esme now stood close. Alice was nowhere in sight.

“Yeah,” Eliza replied. “I’m fine.”

Esme’s eyes were gentle. “Is there anything I can help with? I would like to, if you’ll let me.”

Eliza stared at Esme. A woman she barely knew, who cared so much. Eliza wanted to say _‘I miss my mom. You remind me of her. In a good way. Every good possible way.'_

“I’m really fine. But thank you, Esme.” She emphasized ‘thank you’.

Esme laid an arm around Eliza’s shoulders. “You’re practically one of my own, you know that?” Eliza swallowed and willed tears from forming. She took a shaky breath, and nodded.

Feeling eyes on her, she turned to see Alice had caught it all. She watched Eliza with a sad smile. 

Esme took their bags from Alice and grabbed both girls by an arm. “Come now, you two can’t be done so soon? I’m just getting started!”

Eliza let herself be pulled away, be distracted by Esme and Alice and the clothes they all found. This was no time to be sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliza needs hugs


	13. Closer to the Edge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In five hours I'm leaving for the airport to begin two weeks studying abroad, and I would not dare leave without updating! I haven't gotten to edit like I want, so please forgive any mistakes or odd phrasing.
> 
> The story edits I mentioned haven't been made yet, but they will be for the next update! I promise! Just don't have time right now.
> 
> After you make it through this chapter, ROSALIE IS BACK! Hang in there!
> 
> Catch you all soon.

Sunday came. No Rosalie to be found.

Carlisle interrupted Charlie and Eliza’s breakfast with a call, inviting Charlie over for _drinks_ of all things. Charlie gave her a weird look when she laughed. Eliza was, of course, invited to spend time with his kids.

 “Have you had drinks with Carlisle and Esme before?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Cullen to you,” Charlie eyed her. “A couple of times. They’re great.”

Eliza smiled. Charlie would fight anyone who dared whisper a bad word about the Cullens. “What’s the reason?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Charlie teased.

Eliza stole a bite of his waffle.

 

“Hey,” Emmett whispered.

Eliza tilted her head toward him. She and Emmett stood in the entryway of the Cullen house while Charlie followed Carlisle and Esme to their kitchen. Alice and Jasper lounged on the stairs; Edward sat behind them, body stiff and angled away from Eliza.

“Let’s get out of here,” he continued.

“What do you wanna do?”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “Video games?”

Eliza grinned. “You’re on.”

Alice raised her hand. “Or you could help me organize my closet!”

“Only the third time she’s done it this week,” Emmett snorted.

“And Jasper has been a great help.” Alice pecked him on the cheek, making him smile.

“This time he’s off the hook,” Edward said quietly. His mouth twitched upward, and Eliza realized he’d made a joke. Alice sticking her tongue out at him confirmed her suspicions.

The two boys left and Alice went upstairs to her room. Emmett and Eliza made a beeline for his gaming center – as overwhelming and amazing as Eliza remembered. This time Rosalie didn’t show up to steal her away. Which, for all she wanted to game, was a little disappointing.

First they played Halo. Unfortunately, Halo was one game Eliza didn't know well. Emmett did most of the work, destroying the CPU enemies mercilessly. Then they moved on to Madden NFL, and it was Eliza’s turn to show off.

“Best four out of seven!” Emmett demanded, sprawling on his stomach across the floor.

Eliza was also on her stomach, partly hanging off the couch holding the controller in front of her. “Only because I’ve beat you twice in a row!”

“Exactly! I have to defend my honor!”

Smack talk continued back and forth. Every now and then they’d hear Carlisle, Esme, and Charlie laughing. At one point she snuck into the kitchen hunting for food - Esme met her with a bag of pretzels, water, and a wink.

“I almost feel bad. Here you thought you’d have an easy win,” Eliza said after their tenth game.

“Not gonna lie, I did too,” Emmett sighed. He turned to her. “Here’s the thing. Jasper’s an average player. Eddie and Alice cheat. Rose would be good if she cared enough to practice. But you’re a challenge, and that's fun! I want a rematch.”

“Someday you shall have it, my young Padawan. But today I shall revel in my victories.”

Emmett attacked her with a pillow. Eliza fought back but Emmett picked her up and put her over his shoulder, carrying her through the house. Struggling was useless. “Hello,” Eliza greeted the parents with a wave as they passed by the kitchen. Nothing to see here.

He carried her to the deck on the other side of their house where they climbed onto the railing. In silence they sat and watched the darkening forest.

“Hey bro?” Emmett said quietly.

“Yeah bro?”

Emmett looked up to the night sky. “I’m glad we’re friends.”

“Me too, Emmett. Me too.”

 

 

_Day 9 of the Captain’s Log. Monday. Third week in the new world. Second day of second week without Rosalie. Overcast with a slight breeze. Only one casualty thus far._

“Eliza! You’re still okay, right?” Alice slammed the driver’s door of Eliza’s red truck. She pulled Eliza out the passenger door, lifted her, and sprinted into the Cullen house.

“Alice, I promise I’m fine.”

It didn’t register. “Just hold on, we’re here. Esme! Carlisle!”

“Alice? What’s wrong?” Esme was there, reaching for Eliza.

Alice passed Eliza to Esme. The injury in question was a reddening mark on her face from Tyler’s lucky shot with a dodge ball. She'd been thinking about Rosalie.

Then Carlisle was taking hold of Eliza’s free arm. “I’ll look at it. Alice, why don’t you take Edward hunting?”

Eliza glanced at Edward. His eyes were black – Emmett and Jasper flanked him on either side.

“Off you go then,” Esme shooed them. They disappeared at once. Alice hesitated only a second before chasing after them. “I hope that didn’t make you uncomfortable,” Esme said.

“What do you mean?”

“The hunting thing.”

Eliza shook her head. “Nah. I’m all good, no worries.”

Ageless crinkles formed at the corners of Esme’s eyes with her smile. “You are a wonderfully odd human.”

“We like you for it,” Carlisle said. “Now, let’s have a look at this injury.”

Eliza followed Carlisle into his study. The room’s focus was a mahogany desk and high-backed chair in front of a large window, where Carlisle stood. Two walls perpendicular to the window were bookshelves from floor to ceiling. The larger wall opposite the window had rows of shelving along the bottom displaying odd curios and artifacts. Above these hung art from times past, including a large painting of four men in Victorian-era clothing.

“Hey – Carlisle! Is that you?”

Carlisle’s weighty gaze rested on the painting. “Circa 1700. I spent two decades living in Italy with them.” He took a deep breath. “They are the Volturi. The closest thing we have to royalty.”

Eliza whistled. “Must’ve been pretty sweet to live there.”

He smiled. “Perhaps for some. My way of life was tolerated, not supported. I stayed for the company. In leaving I found something much better.”

Eliza studied their faces, which looked neither friendly nor unfriendly. Emotionless. “What are they like?”

“The leaders? Marcus, Caius, and Aro,” Carlisle said slowly, “are refined. They appreciate the arts and sciences but have little regard for human life.”

“Hence the lack of support for vegetarians.”

“Exactly.”

“And they just… let you go?”

Carlisle approached with a stethoscope. “More or less.” He stopped in front of her. “While I have you here, do you mind if I check a few things? Make sure you’re in good health? You did some world jumping, after all. One cannot be too careful.”

“Go ahead,” Eliza smiled.

He listened to her breathing and examined her senses. “Open your mouth and say ‘ahhh’.”

“Ahhh,” Eliza mimicked. “Carlisle, do you worry about them?”

“Who? My children? Yes.”

Eliza giggled. “The volturi.”

Carlisle placed the stethoscope on his desk and looked back at the painting. “Not really. Why do you ask?”

Eliza looked at the painting again, before back to Carlisle. “I don’t know a lot of details from the later stories of Twilight, but I’m pretty sure they got involved.”

Carlisle’s friendly face did not waver. “There is no need to worry. Don’t trouble yourself with it.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, my examination is complete.”

“It was quite harrowing.”

“Indeed.”

She took a deep breath. “What’s the call, doc?”

“I have determined… that you will live.”

Eliza exhaled sharply, wiping imaginary sweat off her brow. “You had me worried.”

Carlisle laughed, leaning against his desk. “That mark will be gone in no time. Try to pay more attention in gym class.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will,” Carlisle said with a smile. He might’ve meant to say something else, but instead caught how Eliza’s eyes had found an old book on a nearby shelf. “Someone mentioned you like Tolkien.”

“You! You have a first-edition Lord of the Rings?”

“I hardly imagined it would become such a prize.”

Her voice broke. “May I?”

“You may.”

Carefully, Eliza pulled the book from its place on the shelf. The book _smelled_ old. It _felt_ old. And it was amazing. She would have to tell Lily… well, Lily would have been ecstatic. “…Wow…”

“Would you like to read with me? I believe there is time yet before the others return.”

She turned to look at him. “You’d let me?”

“Normally reading in this house is off-limits but I’ll make an exception.”

Eliza looked at him. He looked at Eliza. They both laughed.

Eliza dropped to the ground and crossed her legs, slowly opening the book and turning to the first chapter. She ran her hand over the letters, savoring the touch of history.

Carlisle stood over her, eyebrows knit together. “Would you like a chair?”

She waved him off. “I like the floor. It’s comfy. An A+… what is this, rug? High quality rug you have here.”

“Thank you.” Carlisle smiled. He selected a book off his desk before smoothly dropping to the floor beside her.

Eliza tore her eyes away from her beautiful book and looked at his. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!”

“Have you read it?”

“Several times.”

“Don’t spoil it, then! I just started the series this weekend.”

“Damn that’s fast.”

“I have a little extra time on my hands.”

They settled in to read. The only sounds were the crinkles of pages and Eliza’s breathing. Several minutes later Carlisle whispered, “you’re right. This rug is extremely comfortable.”

“What kind is it?”

Esme’s voice called from someplace in the house: “It’s Persian!”

 

 

Tuesday of the second week Rosalie’s absence. Things could be better.

Part of the school lunch was mashed potatoes. Eliza’s dad _loved_ mashed potatoes. One bite and she remembered a day her dad sprung her from school early, just to go to KFC for lunch, because he craved those mashed potatoes. They sat and ate and talked and laughed. It was one of her favorite memories with him.

Eliza took another look at the food, sighed, and laid down her fork. Jasper and Alice spent the rest of lunch failing to get her to eat more, but she didn’t feel like it.

Then came biology, where Edward wasn’t much for talk.

“Yo dude,” Eliza greeted.

“Mhm.” He sat as far away as their table allowed, whispered “I’m sorry,” and ignored her. His eyes were black. She tried not to panic. Keeping her heart calm might help the struggling vampire. Success eluded her.

Edward fled class the exact second it ended.

“That was fun,” Eliza muttered leaving Biology.

“Cullen’s a weirdo. I’d leave him alone,” Mike popped up.

“He’s not the only boy I want to leave me alone right now.” Said boy laughed and didn’t get it.

Gym was not good. She lost her footing and slid, getting that floor burn which doesn’t bleed but hurts like hell.

She took her time leaving school. When she got to the lot, it was mostly empty. Eliza flinched at the wind, pulling her jacket collar up to protect her face. In the distance she noticed commotion near the tree line. She squinted to figure out what it was.

Jasper, Emmett, and Alice – surrounding Edward. Emmett’s arms wrapped around him, Alice and Jasper standing between him and the lot. Edward bobbed and fought, pushing against them to… to get a look at her. His eyes were black. Wild.

Fear, real fear, twice in one day. Jasper spared a glance her way, then began herding Edward into the trees with Emmett.

Alice reached Eliza at a human sprint. “I’m sorry,” she pointed at Edward. “I don’t know why he didn’t leave after your biology class. We were waiting for you and he completely freaked! You aren’t even really bleeding from that scrape, but with how he’s acting one would think you’d been stabbed –”

“Alice,” Eliza rubbed Alice’s arms. “Calm down.”

“I can’t be calm,” Alice stopped her foot. Asphalt cracked. “He scared you.” Alice read her silence. She wrapped her arms around Eliza and held on tight. “I’m sorry,” her sing-song voice broke. “I should’ve been able to prevent this.”

Eliza pulled back. “Please don’t be upset Alice. You’re practically perfect in every way, but not entirely.” Alice’s frown became a smile. “You can’t do everything. He has to be held accountable for his actions.” She patted Alice’s cheek. “Don’t worry your pretty little face.”

Alice shook with a quiet laugh. “Thank you.” She stepped away, looking at the forest. “We’ll get Edward sorted out. He’ll feel terrible once he comes to his senses.”

Eliza knew Alice was right. But after Edward’s display, spending time in their house didn’t sound appealing. “I’ll go home then. Have some time to myself, with Charlie coming home late.”

“I don’t want you to be alone after that. You should go see Jacob!”

Eliza raised her chin. “You’re telling me to see Jacob?”

Alice shrugged. “I don’t love the idea. But he’ll keep you safe while we’re otherwise occupied.”

“You act like Edward’s going to attack me the moment I’m out of your sight.”

“You are my small, fragile human, and I want you safe.”

“Alice… I’m taller than you.”

  

When she pulled up to Billy’s house, nobody seemed at home. The minute she slammed her truck door Jacob came barreling out of his garage waving a rag. “Eliza!”

“It is I!”

Jacob gave her a quick one-armed hug. “I just finished your motorcycle!”

Eliza’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

Jacob nodded before running back to the shed, Eliza close on his heels.

Her motorcycle sat in the center of his work space, which was littered with an assortment of tools and food boxes. “I cleaned the gas tank and headlights, replaced the spark plugs, and your electric system seems to be in good working order. I gave it a nice shine, too.”

“Good as new,” Eliza murmured. The Triumph looked beautiful. Her grandpa would’ve been over the moon excited for her.

“Duh. _I_ fixed it.”

Eliza grinned. “Jacob.” She looked up at him. “Thank you. You have to let me pay you back. This. This means the world to me.”

Jacob smiled. “Buying me pizza will be enough.” He cocked his head. “I was about to call you when you pulled in. What’s up?”

He crouched down and began picking things off the ground. She stepped over his hunched figure to reach the motorcycle. “Edward Cullen has a harder time around my blood than the others, and today was a bad day.”

“I see.”

“Alice thought it might be smart to come here.”

A thud, something metal hitting the ground. “One of the Cullens told you to come here? Seriously?”

Eliza swung a leg over the seat of the Triumph. “Alice is my soul friend, and my human fragility is of great concern to her.” Eliza looked up at Jacob, now standing with arms full. “I trust you, so she does too.”

Jacob sighed. “That’s really cool of her.”

“It is.”

Jacob threw the garbage away before standing in front of the bike, both hands on the handle bars. “Why don’t we let off some steam? You take that motorcycle for its first ride, and I can meet you at the beach for a workout.” Eliza smirked. Her day was looking up.

She grabbed her backpack and helmet from her truck, before running back to find Jacob opening the two larger shed doors so she could drive right out.

“At the main road hang a right. It’s a straight shot for a mile or two, then the signs should point you the rest of the way.”

“Will other people be around? Is it safe for you to… you know? Wolf up?”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Wolf up? Really?”

“It works.”

“Sure. After I ‘wolf up’, I’ll meet you and bring you to my secret workout spot.”

“How will I find you?”

“I’ll find you!” Jacob smiled and ran around the shed. The sound of his footsteps faded, not before two feet turned into four.

Eliza swung her leg over the motorcycle again. Kicking the foot stand up, she walked the bike out of the shed and turned the key. She grinned as the Triumph roared to life.

Worn grass, dirt, and gravel road stretched before her. A gentle twist with her right hand jerked the bike forward, enough to catch her balance and pull her feet to the footrests. Then there was no turning back.

Being on gravel, Eliza couldn’t accelerate how she wanted. Still, the sensation of riding was amazing. Eliza had _missed_ this.

Reaching the main road, she opened up the throttle. All the written and unwritten rules of riding came back with the feel of the road beneath her. Naturally she had to slow too soon to obey the law, coming up on a car following the speed limit.

Taking advantage of the double yellow line turning to dashes, Eliza revved the engine and weaved around the car. With a grin she accelerated faster to see what the bike could do.

At ten, fifteen above the speed limit, she wasn’t blind to the natural beauty of Washington. The road beneath was smooth, dark from the perennially muggy air. Trees lining the road were an otherworldly green. Sky above her a patchwork white and blue. There was nothing but girl, machine, and the world.

Her motorcycle ripped along the forest road. Then she thought…

Grandpa would have loved this.

She swallowed remorse and sped up. 60… 70… she was going too fast. But the trees whispered memories long hidden in her mind. The feel of the ground beneath her bike, from all the days he would pick her up from school and take her for a ride in the countryside. Stopping at a small-town convenience store to buy her mom’s favorite candy bar, and the hug she got in return upon giving it to her at home. The warm smile of her grandparents and dad as they watched Eliza’s childlike thrill of earning that hug.

She sniffed and blinked back her tears. None of that. Not today.

By the time she reached the parking lot of the beach, she’d put those tears long behind her.

There was another car in the lot, and she could make out a figure walking away to the south. To her right was dense forest.

She turned the key and kicked out the stand, standing up off the motorcycle and pulling off her helmet. Except… she had no shorts to work out in. Her sports bra was fine on top, but jeans? Maybe she could tear them and make some nice jorts. She could see Alice’s shudder already.

Eliza wandered down to the beach, keeping close to the trees. The wind picked up, rustling the leaves. She wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between that and something within.

A quiet woof made her jump.

“Jacob?” She whispered. Something large moved at the name, difficult to make out in the shadows of the trees. “Great,” Eliza muttered as she pushed into the bracken. “This better not be a damn bear.” What would Emmett say, if she ended up fighting a bear?

A minute later and Eliza was a few hundred feet into the woods. The sound of the ocean was a whisper. So close… so close, and yet so far.

Jacob the wolf padded toward her from behind a thick patch of bushes. 

“WhoaholySHIT!” Eliza stumbled backward a step, her back hitting a tree.

Jacob the wolf stood five feet off the ground. His thick fur was a red, rusty brown. The eyes, though, the eyes were Jacob’s own. Oh – and he was smirking.

Eliza huffed and pushed off from the tree, brushing her shoulders. “Shut up. I wasn’t ready.” Jacob snorted. “This is a little alarming, don’t judge.” Acting more comfortable than she felt, Eliza reached forward and brushed her hand through his fur. “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die,” she whispered.

Jacob looked at her in wolfish confusion.

“Don’t worry about it.” Eliza stepped back and looked him over. “You're a cute wolf, bud.”

Jacob growled. 

“Don’t growl at me,” she pointed a finger. “As far as giant wolves go, you look good.” Jacob snorted again and began walking at her side, guiding her. “Not my fault you can’t take a compliment.” He bumped her hip, so she stumbled into a bush.

 

It was pretty weird. Walking through the forest shoulder-to-shoulder with a giant wolf who was one of her best friends? Who was Jacob Black from Twilight? She wanted to slap herself one more time, to be double sure it wasn’t a dream.

They walked for several minutes until they came upon a small beach, protected by thick trees and rocks on all sides. A true secret spot.

Jacob let Eliza continue onto the sand, emerging a moment after her in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. He tossed another pair of shorts at Eliza. “Figured you need something other than jeans.” 

The shorts were old basketball shorts, faded, with a hole or two. “Yours?”

“Little me, less wolf.”

“Ah. Thank you! That was super thoughtful of you!”

Jacob nodded eagerly and motioned to the trees. “Go ahead, I promise I won’t look.”

She found a spot not far in, mostly confident it hid her from view. The shorts were a bit snug, from a _much_ younger Jacob. During their walk the sun had emerged fully, so she pulled off her shirt (if stay-at-home moms can grocery shop in only leggings and sports bras, Eliza could work out in shorts and a sports bra) and wrapped it with her jeans before turning back to the beach. 

Jacob was making a sand angel.

“Hey there, buddy.”

He shot off the ground like the sand was lava. “Ahhey dude! I see they fit, nice!”

“So how are we gonna do this?” 

She looked around them. It was beautiful. Waves were calm, the breeze was gentle, and the beach looked undisturbed aside from the sand-Jacob. The sun was providing rare warmth that felt heavenly on her skin.

Jacob had disappeared. Then he came from the woods pulling two tree trunks behind him.

“Uh…”

Jacob came to a stop, dropping the tree trunks and brushing his hands. “Woo! This is the main course of our workout today.”

“I… see…” 

“Kinda ‘out there’, but it works, and it’s fun. But first! Jumping jacks!”

 

Half an hour only finished their _warm ups_. Sprints. Crunches. Squats. Lunges. And _so many_ jumping jacks. Jacob was no fitness instructor, and she didn’t feel like either of them were performing the exercises just right, but it was fun. Eliza’s stomach hurt from either crunching or laughing – she didn’t know which. 

“Tree time!” Jacob said. “Think pulling a sled with weights on it, but instead we’re pulling –”

“Trees.” 

“– trees!” Jacob echoed. “This is the most challenging workout I can do without, you know, being suspicious. I hide them under bushes. I found you one more suited to your size.” 

Eliza looked at the smaller tree trunk. The tree must’ve been roughly six feet high, ten inches thick. “You sure about that?”

“Promise.”

Another glance at the tree. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Jacob grinned and held up shoulder-straps that looked cut off a backpack. They were… nailed? Nailed and duct taped around one end of the trunk, giving three feet or so of bungee rope clearance. “Here you go!”

She slipped the straps over her shoulders. They were worn down from lots of use and would probably dig into her shoulders. But she couldn’t worry about that, because it was for a good cause. This was for the flex. 

Jacob backed up, giving space to run. “This exercise helps a ton with leg and core strength. You already exercise your upper body and arms enough. Should balance things out. For your first rep just walk to the other end of this beach. Then you’ll turn around, and run back to me full speed.”

Eliza took a runner’s stance, a deep breath, and sprang forward.

 

“And… that’s ten.”

Eliza slipped the straps off let the tree fall. “Wow! That was only ten reps?” She walked to sit beside Jacob at the edge of the water.

“Real humble, Rambo,” Jacob laughed. Eliza had a scarf wrapped around her forehead, wispy curls draping over in true Rambo style. 

“Who, me?” Eliza pointed at herself. “Always.”

They laughed together (their abs _really_ hurt now) and watched the setting sun. It had a hazy glow, retreating below the horizon line. Eliza missed the sun. How it looked, how it made her feel. Like Rosalie.

“Ten dollars for your thoughts?” Jacob asked.

“What?” 

“I’d offer more but that’s all I got in my wallet.”

“I am honored that you treat my thoughts in such high regard. You first, Jacob. How are you really doing?”

His fingers dug and played in the sand. “I’m fine.” 

“Fine can mean a lot of things.”

“Halfway between good and not so good?”

“Have things gotten better with the council?” 

Jacob sighed. “Kind of. I listen but don’t listen.”

“Will it be better once another wolf shifts?”

Jacob smiled. “It would be nice to have the company. I just hope they don’t get more demanding once there’s an actual pack.”

Eliza frowned. “No matter what, don’t ever think they can order you around like soldiers.” Jacob nodded. “Because you’re not. You're a leader, not a pawn.”

Jacob smiled. “You have much faith in me, Rambo. And sage advice.”

“You’re a safe bet. And it’s Jedi Master Rambo to you.”

Jacob laughed, loud and boyish. “How dare I.” His laughter died as he looked her over. “Back to you. What’s on your mind?”

The tide approached, lapping their bare feet. Eliza remembered vacations at the lake, tubing and fishing and exploring. Being a young kid, giggling when her mom or grandma would splash her with water and pretend they didn’t do it.

“I’m fine.”

Jacob didn’t push. He just gave her a sad smile.

 

 

Eliza groaned. 

Everything. Hurt. 

She sat up gingerly. Someone took a sledgehammer to her abs, she was sure of it. 

Deep breaths.

“For the flex,” she whispered.

Eliza was wearing her comfiest athletic clothes today, damn-it. She earned it.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, because while waffles were tempting, an old Google search said she needed protein to support new muscle growth.

Charlie was already gone for work, so she ate in silence.  It was a naked feeling, not having her iPhone for the news, Twitter, or Tumblr. Meaning she had lots of quiet time with her thoughts. It was scary but… kind of nice. 

Being alone with idle thoughts - which often went to Rosalie - also meant memories popped up easily. Which stole the hop from her step, and the sparkle from her eye.

Alas, Eliza still had to go to school. After yesterday’s workout, Jacob drove her truck home so she could ride her motorcycle. Charlie awarded him with grilled cheese sandwich his way out. She was anxious to ride again, but being the parking lot spectacle for her fellow students didn’t sound like much fun today. Good old Red it would be, once more.

A thoroughly cloudy day, the Cullens had arrived by the time Eliza did. Not, of course, the most beautiful of them all. That was too much to wish for.

Alice engulfed her in a hug upon exiting the truck. “Hi!”

Eliza laughed and hugged Alice back tightly. “I missed you too.”

Alice pulled back pecked her on the cheek before looping her arm through Eliza’s. If she noticed Eliza blushing from head to foot, Alice didn’t say anything.

“Buddy!” Emmett yelled as they approached the Cullen cars.

She pointed at him. “Bro.”

They shared a moment, nodding at each other. Edward muttered, “what just happened?” 

“Eliza,” Alice interrupted, shooting Edward a look, “Edward has something to say to you.” 

Eliza watched Edward work a stiff jaw and look up at her with eyes watery from tears that wouldn’t fall. “I am sorry for my behavior yesterday. And my irresponsibility. I might be a monster, but I can be a more conscientious one. That won’t happen again.”

There it was, his terrible self-hate. “This isn’t the time for a healthy discussion on the monstrous nature of the vampire,” and they all looked interested at those words and it _really_ wasn’t the time, “but I forgive you. I also know that you can’t really make that promise.” Edward dropped his head. “I’ll meet you halfway and do what I can to avoid bleeding. Teamwork. Sound good?”

Emmett cooed behind them while Jasper and Alice smiled at Eliza. Edward simply nodded and murmured “thank you” before walking into the school.

“Did I do alright?” 

Emmett and Jasper gave Eliza high-fives. “You did great,” Alice smiled. “Come on!” She exclaimed, dragging Eliza after Edward towards Forks High. “The sooner we get you to Calculus, the sooner it’ll be over!”

Eliza vaguely remembered Lily saying that once, during the one year they shared a high school. She sniffed and forced a cheery tone of voice, letting Alice carry her away. “That sounds good to me.”

 

And it was good. Or, as good as it could be. Not even the combined forces of Alice and Emmett Cullen could break through the fog permeating Eliza’s thoughts. Memories, memories, guilt, and more memories. Even happy ones still made her sad.

Lunch was a quiet affair as Eliza read through _Carmilla_ for the third time in preparation for English. Edward, Alice, and Jasper communicated amongst themselves via delicate eyebrow arching but otherwise left Eliza to her own devices. Emmett alternated between groaning loudly every time Eliza turned a page, and blatantly staring at her muttering “please be done, please be done, please be done” under his breath like a prayer – only to groan when she turned the page and kept reading. Normally, these antics would get at least get a smile sent his way, but not today.

Edward and Eliza survived science, the vampire even going so far as to hold the door open for her and bowing his head when they left class.

She managed to avoid injury during gym class – to herself. She _might_ have tossed the dodgeball extra hard in the _general_ direction of Mike Newton’s, um, _newtons,_ and he might have ended up on the floor clutching his stomach, but besides that gym was uneventful.

Eliza was out the front door as soon as the final bell rang. It wasn’t that she thought she could outrun the Cullens, or that she even wanted to try. But the empty air around her felt too full of words she’d never hear again and smiles she’d never see, and the sooner she got back to Charlie’s house, the faster she could shut herself in Bella’s room and just breathe for a minute. 

The furious onslaught of texts from Alice made her feel slightly guilty as she pulled into her driveway, but she tried her best to ignore it.

_‘ELIZA! E! LI! ZA! HOW COULD YOU?’_

_‘I know something is wrong! Why didn’t you wait for us after school? Specifically, ME? Also, how in the world did you beat us to the parking lot?!’_

_‘Emmett is threatening to drive over there, and I swear, if you don’t respond by exactly 3:26 PM I will let him!_  

Eliza snorted in spite of herself, juggling her cell phone between her hands as she stepped out of Big Red. She started replying when a blur caught her eye. Glancing up Eliza saw a small, black blur run across the lawn and leap into the arms of a little brown-haired girl, and the blur yipped happily, and suddenly it wasn’t just any blur, it was Bing being caught in Lily’s arms as she laughed, and Eliza felt herself trip over the uneven pavement of Charlie’s driveway, and then she was on the ground, eyes locked on the girl and her dog.

Tears swam in her eyes. Only the loud blaring of her cell phone broke her from her reverie. Eliza’s hand shook as she held it up to her ear. “Hello?” 

“– don’t need to take the Maserati, honestly, the Mustang is fast enough – Eliza? Eliza! Oh my God, are you alright, I saw you fall –”

“Alice?” Eliza said. “What –”

“– know Jasper said that it would be better if you brought it up on your own time, but you’ve been acting strangely all day, more than any day these last two weeks, and we’re all very concerned so you’re coming over and we are talking about this, damn-it!”

“What?”

“Good, I’m glad you agree. Emmett’s running over, he’ll be there in –”

A large gust of wind whipped past Eliza, and she was staring up at the grinning vampire in question. “Hop on, Spider-Monkey. The sooner we get you back, the less crazy Alice will be.”

Eliza heard Alice exclaim loudly over the phone, but she just shot a small smile in his direction. “I don’t know what it is with you Cullens and monkeys.” 

“Huh?”

“Never mind. I’m glad you came Emmett.”

“Don’t mention it, bro.” He reached down offering his hand, pulling her up.

Eliza jumped back. “Hold up! Don’t run me back!”

Emmett pouted. “Why not? I’ve always wanted a second-in-command. We could’ve pretended to be pirates.” 

“Great idea bro,” she pointed at him, “and we’ll do that! But I want to show you something.”

He followed her to Charlie’s backyard. Eliza pulled a tarp off her motorcycle with a flourish, and Emmett gasped. “Bro!”

“Yeah!”

“But bro!”

“I know!” 

Emmett ran up to it. “No way! Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Eliza patted him on the arm. “I wanted to surprise you with the awesomeness. I’ll ride it back to your place.”

“But I’ll beat you. Easily.”

“Emmett… let me pretend I have a chance.” 

 

Eliza drove, trying to focus instead of watching the blur that was Emmett dart between the side of the road and tree cover depending on the presence of other cars.

“Show off!” Eliza yelled, when he cut in front of her to dash down their driveway as she made the turn.

After the roller coaster of the past two weeks, Eliza was relieved Alice called her out. She really did need to talk everything out. Keeping it from them had been silly. She knew it. All Eliza needed was a push. 

Emmett was waiting for her on their front walk when she pulled up to the house. He took her helmet as she dismounted and gave her a fist bump.

“It’s time, dude.”

 

 “And so, I’ve been feeling guilty,” Eliza sniffed, wiping away the last of her tears. She was sandwiched on the sofa between Alice and Esme. Alice had an entire box of tissues and a large mug of hot chocolate in her hands. Esme had her arms wrapped around Eliza, rubbing her back comfortingly. “Because I’m happy here, with you guys, and it’s weird because I haven’t known you very long, and I already feel so attached, but I’ll never see them again, and – it’s a lot to process, and I tend to avoid that.”

“I’m so sorry,” Esme replied softly, her face mirroring Eliza’s sadness. “I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for you. But if it was one of my children in your place, I would want them to be happy. Don’t feel guilty about your happiness, dear. Life is far too precious to wallow in guilt.” 

“Mom’s right,” Alice chimed in, dumping yet another stack of tissues on Eliza’s lap. The look Esme shot her at hearing ‘mom’ melted Eliza's heart. “This is for the best, I promise.”

 

Eliza nodded. Their words were gradually giving her comfort. Maybe things would work out fine. Perhaps, by some twist of fate, this really was for the best.

“Has anything else been bothering you?” Jasper asked quietly. He was sitting in a large armchair across from them, watching the conversation closely. His posture was excellent, Eliza noted. Carlisle was working. Emmett had taken Edward hunting as neither were well equipped to deal with, well, crying.

“I mean –” Eliza flushed, her thoughts immediately jumping to Rosalie. “Not –”

“Rosalie. You obviously care about her, and you’re still feeling her absence,” Jasper filled in.

Eliza gaped. “How –”

“I can _feel_ it. Plus, it’s easy enough to read if you know what to look for.”

Eliza looked down. “I thought I was doing a better job of hiding just how much she has... affected me.”

“Jasper has a doctorate in counseling,” Alice nodded matter-of-factly.

“Three, actually,” Jasper winked at his wife.

Esme shot Jasper an exasperated look, albeit fond. “The point is,” Esme turned back to Eliza with a gentle smile, “all of your feelings where Rosalie is concerned are completely normal. And she’s as unaccustomed to all of this as you are.”

“But that’s just it!” Eliza exclaimed, shaking her head. “You all keep saying that but I have no idea what _this_ is! You never elaborate on what this is, and why it – why it feels – I don’t know, I can’t describe it, it just – feels –”

“Intense,” Jasper supplied.

“Wonderful,” Alice added.

“Like she carries a piece of you with her,” Esme finished knowingly.

“Exactly!” Eliza exclaimed, collapsing against the couch. “That’s exactly what it is.”

“And entirely out of nowhere?” Jasper asked. Eliza dropped her shoulders and nodded.

Esme sighed, running a hand through Eliza’s hair. “You aren’t the first to feel it, sweetheart. It is normal when you’re this way.”

“This way? Is something wrong with me?”

“Quite the contrary. You have a crush, one that might even be love.”

Eliza gaped at Esme, her mouth opening and shutting uselessly. “Lo – _love?!_ But – I – but we –” 

“Esme’s right,” Alice nodded. “And it’s not random either, it’s –”

“Alice!” 

“It’s what?” Eliza asked, head whipping between the two. “What is it?”

“An explanation that needs to come from Rosalie,” Jasper cut in, staring hard at Alice.

Alice groaned, slumping against Eliza and the couch. “It would be so much easier –”

“We don’t disagree, but it is Rosalie’s right,” Esme replied firmly. Her eyes met Eliza’s confused gaze, and she scrunched her nose sheepishly. “Sorry if we’re confusing you more, dear, but –”

“There are certain things about vampires we keep very close to our chests. Especially when it comes to, uh, feelings,” Jasper said warmly. “Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough.” 

Something like hope fluttered to life in Eliza’s chest. “You think so?” She murmured softly, avoiding Alice and Esme’s eyes because the thought of Rosalie was making her blush.

If the squeal coming from Alice was any indication, then the answer was a resounding yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did the math, the tree thing could work, don't @ me ;)
> 
> Raise your hand if you're proud of Eliza for letting herself be emotionally vulnerable
> 
> SO STOKED FOR ROSALIE TO BE BACK


	14. Pull Me Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignoring homework to update is an A+ life choice. I couldn't wait any longer.
> 
> She's back.
> 
> Here we go.

Charlie had just gotten home when Eliza returned from Alice's intervention. Needless to say, she was in a better state of mind than she had been in a long, long time.

“Hey there, Scrapper.” He was sitting at the table, digging into dinner.

“Howdy, Chief!”

Eliza opened the fridge and grabbed the milk, pouring herself a glass.

“Milk?”

Eliza took a sip. “What about it?”

“…Again, milk?”

Eliza flexed her arms. “Strong bones and muscle.”

“Milk moustaches,” Charlie chuckled.

Eliza left it, out of spite.

“You’re in a good mood,” he observed. “Energetic." Charlie looked down at his plate. “Sorry, it’s just. You’ve been a little down lately. I was kinda worried… I don’t know. It was dumb of me.”

Eliza watched him. “Hey. It’s okay. What were you worried about?”

Charlie avoided her eyes. “That you regretted coming.”

Of course, Charlie would pick up on how off she’d been. And that’s right where his mind would go.

“I mean it’s been… a change,” Eliza said slowly. “A big one, but a good one. I’m glad to be here.  _Happy_ , to be here. The milk moustache says it all. Ten out of nine youth counselors agree, milk moustaches are the strongest indicator of happiness.”

Charlie snorted. “And of nerdiness.”

“That too.”

 

Wednesday was another No-Rosalie-Wednesday, but Eliza was at peace enough to have a good day. Oddly enough, Charlie was playing poker with Carlisle and Esme that night. Eliza wasn’t sure what to do with that concept but she sure wasn’t going to miss it, so she tagged along.

Edward filled the house with piano, while Alice and Jasper practiced painting. It was a beautiful outlet for everything they saw and felt beyond the others' reality.

Somehow, they managed to get paint behind Eliza’s ear while she and Emmett alternated between reading comics, sharing stories (mostly Emmett’s shenanigans from the 20thcentury), and eavesdropping on the parents.

 

On Thursday Esme called with an invitation to be her pancake taste-tester. She wanted to serve pancakes at the hospital over the weekend as a winter surprise for  _'those who could use some cheering up.'_

Eliza said yes before Esme finished speaking.

Pancake-making with Esme was a grand production. Esme developed a new recipe, then Carlisle would mix the ingredients. Emmett’s job was cooking the test pancakes to perfection. Then, Eliza would taste them. Jasper was in charge of recording observations.

“Consistency?”

Eliza chewed methodically. “Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Perfect balance of moisture.”

“Noted. Taste?”

“Delicious. Not too sweet, not too salty.”

“How does it make you feel?”

“Real –”

“– happy,” Jasper finished with her. They laughed.

“Incoming!” Emmett called, flicking his wrist. The pancake flew off his spatula and landed on Eliza’s empty plate.

“Pancake number five,” Jasper wrote. “Syrup added, or no syrup added?”

 

Friday morning. The door swung shut behind Eliza with a rickety whoosh. Today was pleasantly warm despite the clouds – whatever. She’d take it. Deep breaths filled her lungs with fresh, tree-scented air. Something was different. Eliza  _felt_ different, and she couldn’t figure out why. She took one step toward a new school day when her phone rang. It was Alice.

“Hello?”

_‘WEAR YOUR LEATHER JACKET LOVE YOU BYE!’_

“What?”

No answer. Eliza frowned at the ended call sign. Why should she wear her leather jacket? That would require going back inside and up the stairs.

Eliza threw her head back. “Ugh… no, I’m not gonna–”

Her phone buzzed with a text. She whipped it out again, hoping for Alice’s name and a good explanation. Instead there was a text from Emmett, the first he’d sent her.

_LEATHER. JACKET._

Eliza huffed. “Fine. FINE. I will WEAR the jacket.” She stomped (lightly) back into the house – not really mad at all – because, well, it  _was_  a cool jacket. A minute later she left the house, door swinging shut behind her. She felt and saw the good weather around her again, and realized…Today? A motorcycle day.

 

Eliza smirked, revving her engine louder than necessary and gliding through a green light. She could feel eyes on the parking lot entrance before she came into view.

Smoothly, she into her spot. Mike and Tyler collided with each other and fell to the ground, watching her. Jessica and Angela were gaping too, but more dignified.

Eliza sat back on her motorcycle and pulled off the helmet. Shaking hair from her face, she looked around. Every eye was on her. Under most circumstances that was less than ideal, but right now? Eliza was the epitome of cool.

Her gaze slid to the Cullens last, and…

Eliza’s heart stopped. Stuttered. And took up a new beat, again,

_For her._

Rosalie was there. Really there, staring at Eliza and flanked by smug siblings.

Eliza hardly noticed the others – her vision focused only on Rosalie. Is it possible for anything in the universe to be as beautiful as Rosalie Hale? Was she always this pretty? Could Eliza have been blind before? How did she forget?

Then she was struck with a desire to run to over there. After seconds of struggle, Eliza pulled her gaze and collected herself. She was being cool. Play it cool.

Her heart didn’t get that memo.

Eliza stepped off the motorcycle and set it on its stand. Backpack on her back and helmet in-hand, she began making her way over to the Cullens. If she walked into students on her way, she did not notice. Rosalie was an ocean current carrying her out to sea, the song of a siren on the wind. That and more.

Eliza stood in front of them: Rosalie hadn’t moved an inch; Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were grinning like Cheshire cats; Edward was angled away from them all. Eliza didn’t care to take in his face, because… Rosalie was there.

“Hi,” she got out. “Good morning, guys.”

A quiet chorus of mornings (and Alice’s giggle) answered her back – except for Rosalie, heated stare fixed on Eliza. The other Cullens drifted away after that, leaving the two girls alone.

Eliza panicked. Did Rosalie always smell this good? No, she couldn’t say that, she had to be cool. “I've missed you!” Damn. Rosalie blinked. “Not that. I mean. You’ve been gone.”

“Too long,” Rosalie said, and if the essence of beautiful music could be contained in a single sound – that was her voice.

Eliza smiled. At herself and the ridiculous sappy thoughts running through her head, at their words, at  _them_. Eliza could be cool around anyone, anywhere, except where Rosalie Hale is.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just, this.”

“This?”

Eliza gestured between them. “You know… us.”

“What about us?” The corners of Rosalie’s mouth lifted.

“I – you. Come on,” Eliza sighed.

“Forgive me,” Rosalie stepped closer. “I wanted to make you say it.” She winked, slipping past Eliza and strutting into the school.

Eliza stared after her.  She closed her eyes, rubbing the back of her hand over her face. This was real.

 

Walking to her first class, she saw her again. Rosalie matched her stride, not saying a word and staring straight ahead. Eliza’s heartbeat picked up accordingly.

“Did you finish  _The Lord of the Rings_ whilst you were away?”

Rosalie looked at her. “Whilst?”

“I said it.”

Again, a hint of a smile. “I did not. There were more pressing things to attend to.”

Speaking of pressing, Eliza really wanted to; what could Rosalie have possibly been doing for two weeks straight that she didn’t finish  _The Lord of the Rings?_  But that may not be wise. “Let me know when you do. It’s fantastic. We could like,” be cool, “have a book club.”

Not. Cool.

A full smile flashed across Rosalie’s face. She herded Eliza to the side of the hall. “You are not proficient at small talk.”

“Hey now. Neither are you, sweetheart.”

“I will elect to ignore that insinuation.”

“How kind of you.”

An arched eyebrow and a smirk. “Careful,  _Swan._ I have a reputation here. They call me a bit–”

“I would never!” Eliza declared. Embarrassingly fast. Not at all cool.

Rosalie studied Eliza’s face before backing away; they’d stopped across from her first class. “I know.” She turned (Eliza thought she would die, Rosalie smelled too good) and was gone.

 

The bell for lunch rang. Eliza’s heart started with a jolt because  _Rosalie_. Time to see Rosalie. Jasper didn’t hang back to talk with her – he passed with a sidelong smile and slipped away to find Alice.

Alice, who had been noticeably absent all morning, save for one text:

_‘Are you trying to kill Rosalie? I mean, she’s already dead, but keep it up ;) It’s working!’_

She rounded a corner. The entrance to the lunchroom was too far, but also too close.

“Ahem.”

Double-time, heart, keep up. Eliza looked at the pale hand resting lightly on her shoulder. She followed it, eye-to-eye with Rosalie.

“Bella, sit next to me at lunch.” A statement.

“Is that a promise or a threat?”

Amber eyes darkened a shade, hand sliding down Eliza’s arm to brush hers before pulling away. “Whichever you prefer.”

Rosalie turned quickly and glided away, leaving a soft tingling on human skin beneath the clothing where she touched.

 

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Pause.

Thump.

Edward’s voice covered the thump of her heel on the leg of her lab stool. “Did you enjoy your lunch?”

Eliza frowned at him. How dare he interrupt her thoughts about Rosalie? “Obviously. I tend to enjoy eating at most any time of day or night.”

“Interesting.”

“Is something up, buddy?”

Edward nodded, suspicious geniality on his face. “Your heart was running at the oddest beat. Color changed on your face quicker than usual. You looked nervous, excited even, aware of everything and yet focused only on...”

“Do you plan to major in Sherlock Holmes at college?”

“No need to be defensive.” The teasing tone of his voice was annoying, because she knew exactly where he was heading. “If I am not mistaken, I would say you li -” 

“I get it,” Eliza whispered, aware of curious humans around. “My crush on Rosalie is ridiculously obvious. Anything else to report?” Edward only smiled and looked down at the table. Eliza remembered the table smashed under Edward’s hands, black eyes staring Rosalie and Eliza down. “Why the interest in our relationship? I thought you were opposed, if Esme's table is anything to go by.”

Edward didn't look up. His smile became unmistakably sadder. “Not at all. On the contrary, I am happy for you.” He looked up at her, eyes dark ochre. “I am.”

He looked away, and they spoke of little other than Biology for the rest of the hour.

 

Rosalie was already in English when Eliza walked in. The pen in her hand flowed across notebook paper while she read from a textbook.

Eliza had plans to say something witty, but Rosalie looked so  _cute_ focusing like that.

Her hair hung off her shoulders, hiding part of her face.

Her brow furrowed slightly in concentration while she read.

Her posture was exemplary even leaning into her desk, arms resting on it as she wrote.

Rosalie looked beautifully, imperfectly human. Once upon a time, Eliza might’ve been fooled.

As luck would have it, Rosalie didn’t catch her staring. Or she didn’t make it known if she did.

Class started, a final review of  _Carmilla_ before their exam the following week. At least that’s what Eliza was supposed to be doing. Her hands itched to do something else, and her mind followed suit.

A folded note landed in the center of the new notebook page Rosalie had started for class. The pen paused, a subtle crinkle as she read the note (good thing they sat near the back, and the students around them were dead to the world), and Eliza sensed a glance in her direction.

Not a second later, the paper hit the side of her head.

Eliza worked her jaw and swung her head around to Rosalie. The “picture-perfect student paying close attention” façade may work on some mortals, but not this one. She saw the way her lips raised up and her eyes squinted just-so.

Rosalie wouldn’t give the satisfaction of catching her, so Eliza huffed and bent down to pick up the note. When she was sure the teacher wasn’t looking, Eliza unfolded it.

She reread her own scribble first.

_‘A penny for your thoughts?’_

Rosalie’s fine, beautiful cursive lay beneath it.

_‘Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror.’_

_The Lord of the Rings_. Eliza smiled, folding the note and slipping it in her pocket.

When English finished, Rosalie was packed in seconds and waited next to Eliza’s desk instead of leaving. The added pressure made her less coordinated and collected than she otherwise could have been.

Eliza stood up and moved for the door, Rosalie’s actions mirroring her own. For the second time that day they walked shoulder-to-shoulder, parting students like Moses parted the Red Sea.

“I never dreamed the daughter of Forks’ beloved Chief of Police would misbehave in class.”

Eliza hummed. “Maybe I wanted to get your attention.”

“I assure you, you did not have it.”

“The paper that hit my head says otherwise.”

“I didn’t see it.”

“You should get your eyes checked.”

Said eyes glinted. “You are a bold one.”

Eliza smiled. “And on top of that, I find myself inexplicably drawn to you.”

Rosalie slowed. The gym doors in front of them had a sign taped to it reading: _‘Phy Ed class outside, only change if you want to.’_ Without comment, Rosalie kept with Eliza on the walk out to the fields.

“Have you considered that perhaps you should resist such a draw?” Rosalie asked slowly. “It may be a wise choice.”

“I did for… an hour or so. Less, probably. My conscience and I agreed it felt like the best choice. A 10 out of 10 pick so far.” Eliza held the door open for Rosalie. “You disagree?”

“Yes,” Rosalie replied. “And no.”

“Tell me if I’m wrong,” the sports fields came into view, “you seem conflicted about it.”

Rosalie came to a stop. “That is an understatement.”

Eliza stepped closer – warmth rose in her cheeks and her heart beat faster. Rosalie stiffened and looked, for once, unsure. “Are we going to talk about it? Because I’ve felt a bit off since I met you, and more so when you left.”

“Eliza…” Golden eyes flickered away.

“You know we need to.”

Eliza blinked, and Rosalie had vanished – run off to who-knows-where. “Seriously?” She sighed and looked around once more before continuing to the fields.

Gym today was light football drills, practice before more intense play the following week. Eliza found Alice and Emmett talking off to the side of the group. As she got closer, she realized Emmett was in fact holding Alice back from running to her.

“Hurry up bro, I can’t hold her forever!”

Eliza jogged to reach them faster. “Okay, let her go!” A second later Eliza had an armful of Alice. “Careful, someone will see you blurring about.”

Alice squeezed her tightly. “I! Can’t! Help it! I’m absolutely thrilled she’s back and you’re together and! You were going to talk, I saw you decide. What happened? I’ve been trying not to watch because I don’t want to be spoiled, I love a good slow burn –”

“She ran away.”

Alice pulled back in shock. “What?”

Emmett stopped squeezing his football into a baseball-sized ball. “What?”

“Rosalie ran away,” Eliza repeated with a smile. She didn't need foresight to see what was coming.

Alice’s yell startled the rest of the class, several birds, the custodian watering plants outside the front of the school, and probably every dog in the Tri-State area. “She WHAT?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Everyone... remain... calm.)


End file.
